


Let's Fall In Love

by ImagineTheDragon



Series: I Wouldn't Mind [2]
Category: Seduce Me (Visual Novel)
Genre: Companionable Snark, Eventual Smut, F/M, Retelling, Romance, Seduce Me the Otome, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, hell yeah, magic systems are my whole shit but there's too much trauma to play in that space right now, those crazy kids have done the do now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:28:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 79,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24869134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineTheDragon/pseuds/ImagineTheDragon
Summary: Abigail Anderson is happy on her family's farm, but when her grandfather leaves her his mansion and she flies halfway across the continent, she gets more than she bargained for.Set before the events of Carry You Home
Relationships: Sam Anderson | Aomaris/Original Character(s)
Series: I Wouldn't Mind [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799428
Comments: 46
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> okay ngl this is basically just a retelling of the first seduce me game with my own oc. it follows the plot, and a decent portion of the dialogue from the boys is the same, but after the first few chapters it branches off a bit more into original stuff. i'm fully writing this as a creative outlet while i'm stuck at home, so please know that going into it. this is in the same series as the other fic i wrote during the quarantine, Carry You Home, set first in the timeline of Abigail and Sam's relationship. title comes from the song Let's Fall In Love by Mother Mother

fondly pat the white stripe on Phineas' soft, long brown nose. The horse snorted at me in irritation, and I laughed at him.

"Yeah yeah, I've got your food right here," I told him, hefting the bucket I was holding above the door to his stall so he could see it. "You  _ are _ gonna have to back up though. Rude boys don't get their food on time."

Familiar with the routine, the big bay backed up, his head lowering as he stood parallel with the back wall of his stall, ears flicking back and forth as he pretended he wasn't watching me.

"Good boy!" He stomped a hoof as I unlatched the door and stepped in, dumping the mix of pellets and oats into the big black feed bucket strapped into the corner of the stall. I glanced over and saw that his water trough was still three quarters full.

I gave his flank a pat. "Alright, baby. There ya go."

He stayed at the back of his stall with his head lowered until the latch clicked back into place behind me, going for his food the instant he knew he was allowed to. I laughed at him again and shook my head. “You’re gonna choke on your oats one day, snarfmaster.”

He didn’t react, face half-buried in his feed bucket.I 

I glanced at the two other occupied stalls in our small barn, having fed their occupants already. "See you in an hour or so, Pharaoh," I told the blue roan in the left stall as the gelding stuck his head out to look at me. "We're gonna hit up the West trail today, I think."

He gave an unimpressed nicker, and pulled his head back into his stall. I rolled my eyes as I turned back to the door, stepping out into the brisk Alberta spring morning.

It was April, and it was just starting to warm up. Snow clung to the ground in thick patches, fighting with the cheatgrass for control of the yard, and the breeze from the Rockies was cold and crisp.

Everything smelled fresh and clean, ready for the oncoming summer heat and dust. I could hear one of our dogs, Hercules by the sound of it, barking his ‘I have found a squirrel and I will make that everyone’s problem’ bark on the other side of the house. 

I adjusted my black ballcap to block the glare of the sun, my mop of curly orange-red hair whirling around me in a sudden gust of wind. 

"Abigail!" I heard my mother calling me from the direction of the house. I turned, and saw her standing on the porch, black plastic house phone clutched in her hands. She looked upset.

~~~

I sat in the living room, curled up in the big brown comfy corner chair, eyes red and swollen from crying. The laptop in front of me on the coffee table was shut, but I glared at it as though Asus themselves were to blame for what I had just been told.

My branch of the Anderson family had been in Canada for a while. We moved when mother was still pregnant with me; I might have had dual citizenship, but Canada was all I had ever known. That said, we'd always kept in contact with Grandpa Anderson. I'd been to visit him a few times, but the last time I'd seen him in person was two years ago, when I was sixteen and still in high school. When I was there I had taught him to use Skype, so I had called with him a few times in the intervening years. 

Hearing he was dead had come as a shock.

Hearing he left me his Chicago mansion and related estate was a bigger shock. 

"Honey?" came mother's soft voice.

I looked up and wiped my face with the back of my hand. "Hey."

She smiled kindly at me, the expression familiar on her soft face, and came to sit next to me on the wide armrest of my chair. She leaned over, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into a hug. "I know it's tough. We're all going to miss him." Her voice was rough with the tears she herself had cried. I had lost my grandfather, she had lost her father.

I nodded, leaning into her. She ran her fingers through my hair, sighing deeply. "It's a lot to take in, huh?"

I nodded again. "Why me?" I asked in a small voice.

I felt her shrug. "I don't know, honey. He loved you a lot, that's for sure."

We stayed like that for a while, only interrupted when my other mom came into the room.

She smiled at the sight of us curled up together in the chair, and leaned against the wall. "Your plane leaves tomorrow at eleven in the morning," she told me softly.

My head snapped up in surprise. "That's too soon!" I protested. I hadn't even had time to adjust to the fact that my grandfather was really gone, and now I was flying halfway across the county in less than twenty four hours?

Mom shrugged, gesturing to the laptop. "I know sweetie, but you heard the lawyer. The sooner you get in there the better. I'm sure we'll be able to sell it pretty quickly, but someone needs to live there in the meantime. Besides, I think it'll be good for you to spend some time there." Well. That wouldn’t have been my first thought, but she  _ was _ the psychologist, I supposed. 

Mother, one arm still around me, moved one of my corkscrew curls behind my ear. "I'm just sorry I can't come with you," she said wistfully. Her warm auburn hair fell in soft waves either side of her face, framing her hazel eyes that looked at me sadly. 

"I told you, I'm alright taking the reins for the charity ball," mom said to her. 

Mother shook her head, turning her attention to mom. "I wouldn't do that to you, sweetheart." She stood up from the chair after pressing a quick kiss to my forehead. "There's only a week left and I've still got a lot of planning to do, and you've got your plate full with the day to day at the office."

Mom's lips pressed into a thin line as mother came to stand beside her and cupped her face in her hand. 

When people met my moms, they were always surprised. Mom was tall, blonde, blue eyed supermodel material, all thin limbs and symmetrical angles. She was incredibly competent, efficient, and blunt. Mother, by comparison, was shorter than my own five foot three, had wavy auburn hair, vibrant hazel eyes, and a soft, curvy frame. She was a sweetheart, incredibly compassionate and gentle, but could be scattered. They balanced each other quite well, mother bringing a helping of sparkly fun to mom's rather dreary office life, and mom pulling mother's wild flights of fancy back to reality when they got out of control. 

Mother went on her tiptoes, and mom automatically wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned down to give her a quick kiss. I smiled a bit. When I was younger their easy affection for one another had made me gag. They were my  _ mothers _ . But now that I was a bit older, I found their relationship very cute. Maybe one day I'd be lucky enough to find someone who cared for me as much as they cared for each other.

Mom returned her attention to me. "You should get packed. Plan for a week. I made sure there was plenty in your account in case you need to pick anything up. Oh! Aunt Sylvia will be stopping by for a visit while you're there. She lives close by and was quite excited to hear you were coming down."

I nodded absently. Aunt Sylvia. Excellent. I better start practicing my gracious conversation-enders now.

Mother disentangled herself from mom, heading for the kitchen. "I think I'll do some baking," she said. Mom nodded, smiling at her retreating back.

Prying myself from the plush fabric of the chair, I stretched, wincing as my back cracked loudly. "Yeah, I'll go pack. Do you know where my-" The passport I had been about to ask for seemed to materialize in mom's hand. "Ah, thank you." I grabbed it, and she ruffled my hair. 

"Try to think of it as a mini vacation before you go back to school. You've had a good gap year, this'll be an adventure to end it on."

I gave her a smile before heading upstairs to pack. 

An adventure. I liked the sound of that.

~~~

My adventure was off to a bad start. 

The flight had been fine, a small commercial flight direct from Calgary to Chicago. The airplane food had been mediocre, the in-flight movie selection good, and I had a decent bulkhead window seat with lots of legroom. There hadn’t even been much in the way of turbulence. 

The problem had come when I arrived at grandpa Anderson's mansion. 

The taxi had dropped me off, and I had grabbed the key from where the lawyer handling my grandfather’s estate had stashed it beneath a spare brick at the base of one of the pillars. It wasn’t raining, but the clouds were dark grey and looming, cold wind gusting around me. Then I opened the door to the sight of five men unconscious and bleeding all over the austere white marble entryway. 

"What the fuck," I muttered under my breath. The messy bun I had tossed my wild orange hair into four hours ago suddenly seemed too tight. Migraine town, here I come. 

The flight hadn't been long, and the time difference between Calgary and Chicago was small enough to make no nevermind, but I had still been tired and looking forward to a nap when I had arrived. Travel wasn’t my favourite thing to do; I had hardly slept the night before, and I was still kinda messed up about my grandfather’s passing. Not exactly a good recipe for clear thinking and crisis management. 

All thoughts of having a nap fled at the adrenaline rush I had at seeing five clearly injured men lying on the floor of the mansion.

I stepped inside, pulling my suitcase in behind me and shut the door.

"Ambulance. I need to call an ambulance. Maybe the police. Ambulance first though." Talking to myself helped me focus, and I pulled my phone from the back pocket of my jeans and went to dial 911.

I was stopped, however, by one of the men. He was on his feet right in front of me, faster than should have been possible. The one wearing green, I had time to register as one of his hands covered the screen of my phone and the other gently gripped my chin, tilting it up and forcing me to look him in his ridiculously green eyes. Surprise locked my joints, my self-defence lessons proving unhelpful when i was this far off my game. A distant part of me decided to blame it on my borderline non-existent jet lag.

"Woman, you're going to let me kiss you," he ordered. His voice echoed oddly inside my head, languid and soothing.

_ What the fuck? Who the hell are you, sleazo. Get your goddamn hands off me before I break your  _ goddamn  _ fingers. _

For some reason, none of those words made it to my lips as a strange, warm wave of calm and heat tore through me, and I found myself putting my phone back in my pocket. 

"Y-yeah, go ahead," were the words I said, even as I internally screamed at myself to punch him in the throat.

"Good," he murmured before his lips were crushed to mine.

It felt wonderful. Sparks of electricity practically flew from where his fingers held my chin, and I all but melted at the firm press of his lips on mine. I was very nearly purring, part of me wanting to press myself closer to him, have him hold me tightly to his chest, wrap my arms around him and stay in this pool of warm bliss, kissing him for hours. 

I had  _ just  _ enough presence of mind to not actually kiss this wack job back. The part of me that knew something was wrong was clamouring too loudly for that, no matter how much I wanted to get closer and enjoy this. I felt myself getting more lethargic, almost as though he was draining my energy through my lips. Which was a  _ wild  _ thought to have. That wasn't a thing that happened. 

Then again, me not doing anything about someone I didn't like having their hands on me wasn’t a thing that happened either.

"Sam. Stop it." 

The new voice didn’t do much to break through the haze that filled my mind. There were other people here? They didn’t matter, not really. 

“Hmm?” The man kissing me, Sam? Seemed to agree with my foggy train of thought, barely flicking his eyes towards the sound of the interruption. I watched him through half lidded eyes, a small, distant corner of my brain planning how many of his bones I was going to break.

“I said stop. Now,” the new voice repeated, anger lacing more strongly through his words now.

With a final sigh, the man pulled away from me. Despite my previously violent thoughts, I found myself almost whimpering at the loss of his lips on mine, leaning a little bit to follow him as he pulled back. 

“Fine,” he told whoever was speaking. 

I stood there, swaying a little bit as he stepped back from me, arms wrapping around myself as the warm calm of his presence started to leave me, and cold disorientation started creeping through me in its wake. My head was still fuzzy as I watched four other men stand up a few steps behind the man who had kissed me. 

The tallest cleared his throat and spoke to me, making it clear that he had been the one who made the first man break off his kiss. “Please forgive my brother. He’s a bit reckless.”

“At least I feel a hell of a lot better than you right now.”

“Because you used your abilities on her.” 

Abilities… what was he talking about? It was so hard to think.

“Sam, you’re such a reckless brute, taking advantage of a beautiful young woman like her,” another man spoke up, his side swept red hair disheveled from lying on the ground. Despite everything else going on, I felt a pang of jealousy. This man had red hair, and was wearing a red shirt, yet his skin wasn’t glowing like a stoplight, and his complexion was clear. My own bright orange hair came with skin that would have put rudolf’s nose to shame in most circumstances, and was dotted with a galaxies worth of freckles.

“Shut that pretty boy mouth of yours before I rip it off your pretty boy face.”

There were two others who joined in their conversation, but I couldn’t focus on what they were saying anymore.

I closed my eyes and tuned out the rest of their discussion and focussed on controlling my breathing and trying to shake the lingering fog from my mind. 

My name was Abigail Anderson. I was eighteen years old. I lived in Alberta with my two mothers, my younger brother, two dogs, a flock of chickens, and three horses. My grandfather, Harold Anderson, had passed away yesterday, and he had left me his mansion. 

The downside to collecting my thoughts and pulling myself from that weird mental fog was realizing how little control I had had over myself. Panic was my first instinct. What had that  _ been _ ?! It didn’t make any sense. 

Panic wasn’t useful though, so I shoved it aside in favour of anger.

I must have made some sort of noise as I started to pull my thoughts back together, because the third man who had spoken, the one with the red hair, addressed me. 

“Did you say something, beautiful?” 

That was  _ definitely _ the wrong thing to say to me just then. My eyes snapped open and I glared at the group of them.

“Who the  _ fuck  _ are you guys?! What the fuck are you doing in this house?! Why the  _ fuck _ did you kiss me?!” The five of them gaped at me in shock as I glared, my hands clenched into fists at my side. I probably should have let myself be more scared. I was alone in a strange house in a strange city with five strange men staring at me. But the anger filled me with purpose while panicking would have left me a miserable wreck. I’d take brash and confrontational over cowering and shaking any day.

Wait one goddamn second. The man in the green vest. Sam, as the others identified him. He had  _ kissed  _ me.

He was still close to me, within arms reach. That was a miscalculation on his part. I turned the full force of my glare on him, pulled back a clenched fist and slammed it into his upper arm. There wasn't as much force behind it as I wanted there to be; I was still a bit spacey from… whatever he had done to me. My old krav maga instructor would’ve been ashamed. Both from the quality of the punch and from how easily I’d been surprised.

“Ouch! What’s your problem?!” Sam exclaimed, returning my glare.

I almost laughed incredulously. “What’s  _ my _ problem?! What’s  _ your  _ problem?! You can’t kiss people without their consent! It’s  _ literally  _ illegal as well as being  _ incredibly  _ shitty!”

“It was only a kiss!” he snapped back, rubbing his arm where I had hit him. 

I gaped at him for a moment. “It doesn’t matter if  _ you _ don’t think it’s a big deal! It’s a big deal to some people! Most people even! It's a big deal to me!”

“What, was it your first kiss?”

I fell silent, feeling a blush creep across my cheeks. I knew it wasn’t a huge thing, to not have had a first kiss, even at eighteen. But the way he was looking at me made me  _ feel  _ like it was. Besides, it wasn't about it being my first kiss. Not really. I liked to think I'd be just as righteously pissed off if it had been my hundredth kiss.

I punched him again, this time in the other arm. That one would probably leave a bruise. 

“Hey! What was  _ that _ for?!”

“For being an insufferable douchebag!”

He was still glaring at me, but there was a flicker of understanding in his eyes. “So it  _ was  _ your first kiss. Stop making such a big deal out of it.” 

I practically saw red. This  _ asshole _ and his friends… brothers? Whatever. They broke into my grandfather’s mansion, bled all over the floor, and one of them took my first kiss without consent and he was telling  _ me _ to not make a big deal of it?!

“I swear to god, if you don’t shut up, I am going to punch you again.”

“Well what the hell do you want me to do about it?! It’s not like I can take it back!”

“You haven’t even said you’re sorry! That would be a good place to start,” I suggested, still glaring at him like I could drill a hole in his head. 

Anger turning to exasperation, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Ugh. Why do I always look like the bad guy,” he muttered under his breath. I had a long list of things I could have responded to that with, but bit them back as he kept talking. “Fine. Apologies aren’t my forte, but I’ll try my best…” he continued, a bit louder.

“Not a great start,” I pointed out, crossing my arms. 

He narrowed his eyes at me before taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh. “Okay, fine. I’m sorry.” 

I arched an eyebrow, waiting for more. It took a moment, but he got the hint and continued, the tone of his voice becoming a bit more genuine. 

“I’m… I’m sorry for kissing you like that. I went too far.” He raked his fingers through his hair, frustration showing on his face. “I didn’t mean for it to turn out that way. It’s just… I act on impulse, okay? It’s difficult to control myself and… Ugh. What am I saying?” 

He seemed like he meant it. It wasn’t good as far as excuses went. Poor impulse control was hardly a get-out-of-jail-free card for whatever crap someone felt like pulling. I doubted I was going to get better out of him though, and unless I felt like  _ actually  _ trying to kick his ass (unwise, judging by the size of his well-muscled arms), I would have to take what I could get. 

Suddenly tired, I uncrossed my arms and waved a hand. “I get what you’re trying to say. I appreciate the apology.” 

A small, authentic smile crossed his lips as I accepted his apology, and I clicked my tongue in irritation. I was tired, not over the whole thing. “Pull anything like that again and bruised arms will be the least of your worries,” I snapped. 

He rolled his eyes and scoffed, and made his first smart move of the afternoon by stepping away from me. 

For the first time I noticed the four other men staring at me in bald-faced shock. The shortest one with fluffy black hair in particular seemed to look at me with an almost idolizing expression. 

“What?” I snapped, folding my arms again, irritation once more overcoming my exhaustion. It was all well and good for one of them to tell Sam to stop, but none of them had done anything beyond that. 

“I’ve never seen anyone talk to Sam like that,” the one with the fluffy black hair replied. 

I lifted my chin a bit, feeling my face heat a little. Well, clearly someone had needed to stand up for themselves. He was a pompous ass. 

“What are you doing in this house?” I asked again, looking at them one by one. 

The tallest stepped forward, an apologetic look falling across his face. “Miss, please forgive us our intrusion. We didn’t know this abode belonged to anyone, nor did we have time to take that into consideration.”

I snorted, annoyed at his formal language. “What the hell are you talking about? You can’t just walk into  _ any _ house, it doesn’t matter if anyone is living there or not!”

“We wouldn’t have had to if we weren’t as wounded as we are currently,” he replied. I glanced at each of them again, noting their injuries. I wasn't a doctor, but some of them looked fairly serious. I didn’t look too closely. I wasn’t super squeamish, but I’d never wanted to get closer than I had to to bleeding people. To my untrained eye none of them seemed fatal, but definitely not pleasant. Sam seemed the only one unscathed, though I could have sworn he was just as injured as the rest when I first stepped through the door. 

“We just escaped from a deadly fight that could have ended our lives. Luckily for us, your home was near, and the windows were unlocked, so we quickly came inside.”

“I should probably call that ambulance then, shouldn’t I? Do you not- Do you people not understand trespassing laws?” They just gave me blank looks. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Alright, fine, fine. Whatever. That doesn’t explain why  _ he _ .” I pointed accusingly at Sam. “Kissed me.”

The man in question looked like he was about to protest, when the red headed one put a hand on his arm and stepped forward. “Well my lovely, flustered lady, it’s hard to explain, truly. We’re not exactly… normal.”

I snorted. “Obviously. You broke into my house and bled on my floor and did…” I glared at Sam. “What you did. You’ve acted like complete demons.”

That seemed to amuse them, all except the one wearing glasses chuckling as I stood there looking from man to man, feeling bewildered. “What’s so funny?” 

“You got it on the first try!” said the man with fluffy black hair, still laughing.    
“... What?”

The tallest one sighed. “We’re incubi, miss. Demons who consume sexual energy of humans to survive.”

I blinked owlishly at him for a moment. He couldn’t be serious. That wasn’t a thing. Demons… demons, weren’t real. Sure, when I was a kid I had wondered if things like unicorns and dragons and fairies existed; wished they did, even. But we lived in reality, and in reality, demons weren’t a thing. 

“Hello, did you hear-”

I cut Sam off with a derisive snort. “Cute. Incubi. Right. I’d be more likely to believe you guys were an Amish family.” I looked them all up and down, taking in their modern clothes. “A really weird Amish family,” I muttered to myself. "Cult? Maybe a cult."

“He’s telling the truth,” the redheaded one said, looking a bit bemused at my reaction. 

“Yeah, and I’m queen of the dragons,” I snapped, glare returning. “You have some way to prove you’re telling the truth?”

I barely had time to regret the words that flew out of my mouth before the tallest one smirked a little. Pompous son-of-a-

“Very well. Erik, go ahead.”

The redhead gave me a sultry smile, taking a step towards me. “Very well,” he repeated.

I tried to take a step back, but that strange, hazy feeling returned as his eyes began glowing gold and my feet wouldn’t move. It lit all my nerves on fire, all of my attention on the man now standing in front of me. He put a finger beneath my chin, angling my face towards him. Where Sam’s fingertips had been a bit rough, Erik’s skin was smooth, soft. 

“My sweet, you’re so tempting with such non-belief. Let me ease your mind with a tender kiss. I promise you’ll enjoy it, and maybe even want more.” 

_ Fat chance, creep! When I literally asked for you to prove it, I didn’t think it would actually work! Get away from me! _

Despite myself, that wave of calm heat passed through me, making me melt at his touch.

“A-alright,” I heard myself agree distantly. 

With a hum, the man kissed me. It felt just as lovely as it had when Sam had done it, but the part of me that hated losing control like this was a bit louder this time, stopping me from enjoying the kiss even as little as I had with Sam. Now that I was paying more attention, I could feel the energy draining from me as Erik’s lips moved softly against mine. 

“Alright, that’s enough,” the tall one said, his voice helping to cut through my mental fog. 

“Aww,” Erik complained as he pulled away from me. “Very well. I feel so much better.” 

He let go of my chin with a smile and a quick wink, stepping back to his previous position. 

My mind still clouded, I tried to glare at him, but knew it wasn’t as effective as it could have been. Probably due in part to the fact that I was swaying slightly on my feet and blotches of darkness were sporadically clouding my vision. I put a hand on my big lime green suitcase to try and steady myself.

“Where are our manners,” the tall one said. 

_ Good question, _ I thought, another wave of exhaustion making me too tired to actually say it. 

He continued. “I’m James. These are my younger brothers, Erik, Sam, Matthew, and Damien.” He gestured to each man in turn, and they all, Sam excepted, gave me warm smiles. 

The world started to tilt precariously, and I put the hand not on my suitcase to my head, closing my eyes and trying to stay upright. I couldn’t pass out. These men had just proven to me that they were demons.  _ Demons. _ They hadn’t attacked me or done anything more serious than kiss me, both of which were clearly well within their power, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be unconscious around them. 

“Miss, are you okay?” Matthew asked, concern in his voice. 

“I’m… my name is… I think I’m gonna…”

Then the marble floor of the lobby heaved and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm terrible at having consistent chapter lengths, sorry about that

The first thing I noticed as I slowly began to fight my way back towards consciousness was that the bed I was in was too soft. Then the sheets, they were too smooth. 

I didn’t quite have a headache, but there was definitely an unpleasant tightness to my skull, and my mouth was dry.

I slowly opened my eyes with an irritated groan, then paused. Instead of the familiar sights of my room, my desk with its computer, my bookshelves with their model dinosaurs and novels, I was greeted with an entirely unfamiliar sight. 

Big glass doors and picture windows framed by soft white curtains led to a balcony. It was too dark to see what it overlooked. There was a modern looking lamp hanging from the ceiling, and another standing lamp tucked behind a white, circular reading chair, and the rectangular ceiling light was on but dimmed to its lowest setting. 

The whole place was decorated with more white than I would ever put in a bedroom, none of the warm mahogany or worn patchwork quilts that I was fond of. It wasn’t unpleasant, it was just not a room I normally would have fallen asleep in. I didn’t think I’d ever seen it before.

Where  _ was _ I? It felt like I was thinking through pea soup.

Lying on my side in the too-soft bed, I stared out the glass doors into the dark for a moment, trying to jumpstart my brain and piece together where I was. I suddenly had the thought that I was glad that I called my moms when I had first gotten off the plane. If I had kept them waiting for the ‘I got to Chicago safe’ call for hours, I would never have heard the end of it. But that was weird. There had still been a few hours of daylight left when I arrived at the-

The mansion.

The memories came flooding back. Five men in the lobby. Demons. Incubi. 

What the hell had I walked into?

I sat up with a yawn, noting that I was still wearing the paint-stained sweats and cut up band t-shirt I had been wearing when I arrived. Good. That was  _ one  _ boundary they hadn’t crossed. I reached up and pulled the elastics from my hair, letting my long orange curls tumble around my shoulders. 

I was running my fingers through my hair, rubbing the soreness out of my scalp when there was a soft knock at the door.

I froze, hands tangled in my hair. I caught sight of my phone sitting face down on the nightstand, my sparkly Jurassic Park case twinkling slightly in the faint light from the ceiling light. 

I ran a quick mental tally of my options.

I could go out there and try to kick them out myself. As much as my ego would love that, there was no way I could pull that off. I could go out there and play along, hoping they’d leave of their own volition. I wasn’t a huge fan of that one. That left a lot up to chance, like their willingness to leave, for example. I hated having that many variables.The third and most attractive option to me was to call the police.

American cops freaked me out, but I couldn’t come up with any other options, no one else to help me. I could call them and hide out in this room- I discarded the idea of hiding in the room almost as soon as it occurred to me. My best bet was probably to dial nine one one, shove my phone in my pocket, and pretend nothing was going on. 

All this ran through my head in a couple seconds, and I started to reach for my phone when a quiet voice came from the other side of the door. 

“Please don’t.”

I froze, hand extended, looking wide-eyed at the door. It was solid wood, painted white to match the trim and go with the eggshell blue walls. I was certain I hadn’t spoken out loud, I hadn’t even made a noise. It would have been a pretty safe bet, I supposed, to guess I was going for my phone. But it was still-

“May I come in? It’s hard to hold a conversation through a door.”

I slowly pulled my hand back, pushing my hair behind my ears as I considered. 

“Alright,” I finally agreed. “Just… stay by the door, please.” I had no reason to believe proximity had any effect on their ability to influence me, but it would be better than nothing. It wasn’t like I really had any other choice

“Of course.” The door opened slowly, revealing the orange haired brother. Darren? Damien?

True to his word he stopped just inside the door and brightened the overhead light, nothing but concern in his expression as he watched me for a couple seconds, seeming to be waiting for me to break the silence. 

“Incubi, huh?” I said after a moment, unsure where I wanted the conversation to go. 

He nodded, a faintly amused smile twitching his lips. “Incubi,” he agreed.

I stretched and yawned again before turning to face him a bit more, swinging my legs out from under the blankets. 

They hadn’t hurt me or done anything untoward towards me while I was unconscious. That was a  _ very _ low bar, but nonetheless I found it reassuring. I supposed I’d have to let this wild situation I found myself in play out. That being said...

I made the decision to not fully trust him - Damien, his name was definitely Damien - or any of his brothers for that matter. They had proven that they could take my will away from me if they wanted, and I didn’t quite have it in me to just trust that they wouldn’t use that power. 

“Well. I should probably order in some dinner for everyone. Do you guys do that? Eat? I have no clue what if anything is in the kitchen right now-”

“We’re not going to use our abilities on you again,” Damien interrupted, a wistful expression coming over his face. 

Well. I was certain I hadn’t said that part out loud. “How-”

“I can read minds,” he said sheepishly. “Each of us was born with an extra ability, on top of our usual incubus talents.”

That was… interesting. Didn’t really like that. “Mind reading. Huh. Should I be aware of the abilities your brothers have?” I asked. I did my best to rein in my thoughts. I may not be sure how far, if at all, I could trust him, but there was no reason to be a dick about it. Mama might have raised a fool who didn’t call the cops on home intruders, but she didn’t raise me to be rude. 

He shook his head. “It’s not my place to tell you their powers. But their talents are more… physical in nature, if that makes sense. No one else can read minds, or see through walls or anything.”

I chuckled. Of course he knew that I had been worried about my privacy. “You always listening to everyone’s thoughts, or is it something you have to focus on?”

He grimaced. “I hope to learn to control it one day, but yes, for now I can’t help but hear what everyone is thinking.”

I slowly nodded. Good to know. I was glad he had told me right away. Once I got past the weird invasion of privacy, I realized how much that must suck. “Thank you for telling me,” I said, seeing from his expression that he had already read my appreciation in my thoughts. I still felt the need to verbalize it though. I glanced around the room from where I sat on the edge of the bed and caught sight of my suitcase in front of the closet. Good, someone had brought that up. 

“Where are your brothers?” 

“They’re downstairs. We cleaned up the entryway, and they’re making dinner for you as an apology.”

“Oh!” I said, surprised. “I mean, thank you for cleaning up the lobby. But you guys didn’t have to make dinner.” That was kind of sweet of them, actually. It certainly wasn’t usual breaking and entering behaviour. I assumed. I’d never had to deal with breaking and entering before. God what was wrong with me? 

“It’s the least we can do after we surprised you like that, and Sam and Erik used their powers on you.” 

I arched an eyebrow. “Alright, you have a point.” I felt a spark of my previous anger light in my chest, partially pushing aside my uncertainty. 

Romance had never been a priority for me. I’d had a couple people ask me out in highschool, but I’d turned them down, wanting to focus on my grades so I could get into the program I wanted for university. And yet! As much as I knew first kisses weren’t movie moments with rose petals and harpsichords, I felt justified in being outraged that it had been taken from me without consent. I was also a bit irritated at Erik for kissing me as well, but I couldn’t find it in myself to hold it against him  _ too _ much. After all, I had basically dared them to prove what they were saying was true. It still bothered me, but he had that going for him. 

I rubbed a hand across my eyes and blew out a frustrated breath. Mind reader. Right there. I shot Damien a quick smile. “I’d like to get changed, then I’ll be right down,” I told him.

I went to stand up, but my knees didn’t quite want to cooperate, buckling slightly beneath me. Damien took a step towards me, but stopped when I shot him a look.

“Are you alright?” he asked, worry colouring his voice. 

“Yeah, I’m good,” I said. “Just need to remember how my legs work. Don’t worry about it.” I also needed a second alone.

Giving me a kind smile, Damien nodded. “You can give one of us a call if you need a hand,” he said, turning around and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. 

I blew out my cheeks and sighed. Obviously he could still hear my thoughts, so I wasn’t really  _ alone _ , but having physical space for a second was nice. 

After a moment of sitting in silence, I stood up, and this time my legs didn’t betray me. I walked past the closet and into the en-suite bathroom, splashing my face with cold water before returning to my suitcase. I’d unpack in a bit. Maybe tomorrow. For now, I grabbed the clothes that were on top. A mossy green tank top and a pair of dark wash skinny jeans. 

Shrugging out of my traveling clothes and putting on a real bra and proper pants made me feel a bit more like a person. I glanced at my makeup bag tucked in beside my clothes, but dismissed the thought with a snort. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. 

I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and stared at it for a second. If I didn’t think too hard about it, I might still be able to get away with calling nine one one. In my mind’s eye, I saw Damien’s concerned expression as he entered the room, and the looks of worry on the others’ faces right before I passed out.

I wasn’t the greatest at pinpointing other peoples’ ages, but they couldn’t be much older than I was. Assuming demons aged the same as humans. Even beyond that, why had they come  _ here _ when they got injured? They hadn’t looked so hurt that they couldn’t have gone somewhere else nearby. If I called the cops on them, what would happen to them?

They probably had ways to get out of custody, but would they know how to do that without leaving a trail for the police to follow? Would they be able to do it without arousing suspicion about what they were? 

If I turned them over to the authorities, would I be all but signing their death warrant?

Despite practically being able to see mom’s disapproving look, I shoved my phone in the back pocket of my jeans. I’d talk with them a bit more. I’d judge whether or not they were a threat, and go from there. I knew what to expect now, and my krav maga training was probably going to be more useful.

Probably.

Hopefully I wasn’t making a huge mistake.

I left the room, taking a moment to orient myself. It had been two years since I had last been here, and even then I hadn’t spent too long poking around the mansion. Grandpa Anderson had been nothing if not active, and he’d kept me pretty busy for my whole two week stay. 

The halls were painted a pleasant taupe with white trim, and mid-sized scenic photographs were hung at intervals along both sides. I recognized a few of them as photos my grandfather had taken on various trips. The one at the end of the hall, where the door I had just stepped out of was, was the view of the Rocky Mountains from my home. I vaguely remembered him visiting when I was five or so, he must have taken it then. 

The incubi had brought me to the master bedroom. I turned right, heading for the staircase and main hall. I made it to the foot of the hardwood stairs when I was surprised by one of the incubi. 

“Oh! Hi!” 

It was the fluffy haired one, practically bouncing up to me from the direction of the living room. He had so much energy, it was kind of cute, really. He reminded me a bit of my brother.

“Matthew, right?” I asked, leaning back a bit to give myself a bit more distance..

He nodded. “That’s me! Are you feeling better? We were all really worried when you passed out.”

“ _ All _ of you were worried?” I asked with an arched brow, thinking about Sam’s attitude towards me. I doubted  _ he  _ was at all concerned.

However, Matthew nodded. “Yeah, we all were.”

“Hmm.” That was interesting. “I’m fine though, thanks for asking. Or, I’m better, anyway.”

“That’s good!” he said cheerfully, before sobering. “I hope Sam and Erik didn’t make you upset.”

I snorted. I was definitely going to have to host some sort of seminar on human culture for these guys. ‘Upset’ wasn’t really the operative word.

“I’ll recover. I asked you guys to prove the whole incubus thing. And I  _ did _ get a couple decent punches in on Sam.” I surprised myself a bit by meaning what I said. I was definitely still angry about what had happened, but I never really had it in me to hold grudges when no permanent harm had been done. Now that I’d had a bit of time to mull it over, I was willing to bet that what had happened had come more from misunderstanding what was acceptable human behaviour than from maliciousness. 

Matthew laughed. “Yeah, you did! I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone yell at him like that!”

His laughter was infectious, and I found myself chuckling as well. “Clearly someone needed to,” I replied.

“Oh! Here,” he suddenly exclaimed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his oversized orange hoodie. I tilted my head curiously, wondering what on earth he could be doing. “Wait for it,” he said, his brow creasing as he focussed on something. I crossed my arms and arched an eyebrow. 

“Tada!” he exclaimed, pulling his hands out of his pockets and revealing…

A demonic squirrel. With a knife. 

“I… thank you...? Were you just keeping that in your pocket? What is it?”

“Huh? It’s-” He squawked as he looked down and saw what he was holding. He dropped it to the floor as it… cackled?

“G-Get it away from me!” Matthew yelped, taking a few steps back. “It- it might be possessed by a demon or something!” 

That made me snort in amusement. “Says you, Mr. Incubus,” I laughed. The doll was lying stationary on the floor despite the sounds of laughter it made as Matthew dropped it. I picked it up, standing it in the palm of my hand to get a better look at it. 

It was kinda cute, when looked at from a certain angle. The white fur was soft and tickled the palm of my hand, and the mischievous eyes sparkled merrily in the entryway lights. The knife was a bit wild, as was the toothy grin, but I was sure that creepy dolls were making a mainstream comeback. 

“I just wanted to make you something to cheer you up!” Matthew said, eyeing the thing in my hand suspiciously. “That thing looks like it came straight from a horror movie.” 

He had used the word ‘make’ there. He could make things in the pockets of his hoodie? Was that the hoodie, or him? I wanted to ask, but he looked so deflated at what he perceived as a failure. I smiled and held the doll out to him so he could see it better. “Matthew, I really appreciate it. Besides, I think he’s kinda cute.” 

His head snapped up, looking at me somewhat incredulously. “But it’s so creepy…”

I laughed. “I mean it’s definitely not a traditional plush, that’s for sure. Here, how about we leave him here and decide where to put him after dinner?” I said, setting him on the right side of the bottom step. 

“I guess…” Matthew agreed, still eyeing the doll distrustfully. 

Honestly, I found it reassuring that he was creeped out by the thing.

I forced myself to hide my laughter at the look of intense mistrust on his face. “C’mon. Let’s head to the dining room, I’m starving.”

As soon as I said it aloud, I realized how hungry I actually was. One could not sustain oneself on airline snacks alone, and the last proper meal I had eaten was a Tim Hortons breakfast sandwich at the airport before I boarded the plane. 

Matthew nodded and led me towards the dining room. I vaguely remembered the layout of the mansion, but it had been so long I was glad for the guidance. 

“Mmm, smells good,” I said under my breath as we stepped into the dining room and the scent of food wafted from the kitchen on the other side of the room. 

“Oh, the girl’s awake.” I turned towards Sam, the owner of the voice, suddenly annoyed again. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded as he watched me with his ridiculously brilliant green eyes. 

“‘The girl,’ really? I have a name.” 

“Should we care?” 

I felt annoyance turn to anger, and I opened my mouth to start yelling, when James stepped out of the kitchen, carrying two plates of food and glaring at his brother. “Sam, I will roast that tongue for dinner if it doesn’t stop flapping in that idiotic mouth of yours.”

Sam glared back for a moment before looking away. “Whatever.”

I felt a muscle in my jaw twitch. I usually wasn’t this easily pissed off, but I supposed I earned the right after the day I had had.

James turned to me as he set the food he was carrying on the table. “I apologize for his attitude,” he said, eyebrows still slanted in irritation at his sibling. 

I scowled at Sam. “You’re not the one that should be apologizing.” Sam glared right back at me, but didn’t say anything. I looked back to James, taking a deep breath. “It’s fine. I'm always a bit prickly after I fly.” 

Matthew and Damien finished bringing the food out, setting the last couple of dishes on the table. “There we go! Dinner’s all served!” Matthew announced. I was still standing just inside the arch separating the dining room from the entryway and hadn’t even noticed him slipping off to help bring the dishes out.

I glanced over and felt my mouth start watering. There was a lot of food, and a lot of variety too. I was eyeing a particularly tasty looking steak specifically, but there were so many options. Mother was a phenomenal cook, but she rarely went all out on a spread like this. 

“Yum,” I hummed appreciatively. 

“We hope you enjoy it, my sweet,” Erik said, looking at me through half lidded eyes. 

I arched an eyebrow at him. “Sweet, huh?”

“That’s enough, Erik,” James chided. 

“You’re no fun, James,” Erik said with a pout. 

I chuckled as James replied. “I don’t need to be fun,  _ Erik. _ Miss, please follow me.” 

I reflexively took James’ offered arm, training from years of social events taking over as he held it out to me. Hmm. My krav maga instructor, Francis Sinclair, wouldn’t be happy about how quickly I had let my guard down.

“Miss, I have to ask, you mentioned something about a flight, are you just coming back from a vacation?”

I considered him for a moment, then glanced around at the other boys. All were looking at me with interest, even Sam. In for a penny, in for a pound, I supposed. If I wasn’t going to kick them out or call the cops, might as well tell them. Once again I all but saw mom scowling at me.

“Not quite,” I started. “I don’t- uhm. This place was my grandfather’s.” My chest tightened a bit at the mention of him. “He passed away yesterday and left it to me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” James said, laying a consoling hand over mine on his arm. 

I gave a halfhearted shrug. “I’m from Alberta.” That got me a bunch of blank stares. “Erm. central Canada. North and west of here. I’m staying here until my mom can sell it, then going back home.” 

“You don’t want to live here?” he asked. I shrugged again. 

“I hadn’t really thought about keeping it, honestly. I have a lot of fond memories here, and I miss my grandpa like crazy, but I’m going back to school in the fall, and the program I want to go into is back in Alberta. Plus most of the jobs in the field are there.” The University of Chicago also had a decent paleontology program, it was my second choice. But my whole life was back in Alberta, and I hadn’t really considered moving here even now that I had a place to live.

He nodded. “I understand. If you ever wish to talk about it, or anything else, I’m here to listen.”

While we had been talking he had led me to the spot at the head of the table. 

“Thank you,” I said in response, surprised that he’d extend me that courtesy. I doubted I’d take him up on it, but it was nice of him to offer. “I’ll let you know if I do.”

“My pleasure. Here’s your seat.” 

“Let me get your chair for you, lovely lady,” Erik said. I jumped a little, not even aware he had been behind James and I. Yup. Definitely needed to work on my situational awareness. I made a mental note to look into getting back into krav maga when I got home. 

I glanced over my shoulder at him, smirking slightly as I regained my composure. “I suppose I can’t say no to a gentlemanly offer like that.”

He returned my smirk, pulling my chair out for me. “By the way, I apologize for my behaviour earlier, stealing your second kiss like that.” 

I gave his arm a pat as I took my seat. “I literally asked you guys to prove the demon thing. I don’t think  _ that one _ counts.” I shot a glance at Sam as I said that. The other incubi were taking their seats around the table, and Sam had chosen one on the left side, about as far from me as he could get. He either hadn't heard, or chose to ignore my pointed comment.

“I’m not as forward as Sam,” Erik chuckled.  _ He _ had certainly caught my meaning. Still behind me, he leaned down and whispered in my ear. “I won’t lie though, I enjoyed kissing you and feeling you melt in my arms.” 

That, I hadn’t been expecting. I felt my face turning bright red. I had been flirted with plenty of times; it was something fun for the younger generation to do at the society events our parents dragged us to. But I definitely hadn't been flirted with when I looked like I had just spent the last two hours taking an impromptu nap after three hours on a plane. 

“I’m sure you did. Do you flirt like this with every person whose house you break into?”

“Only the beautiful ones,” Erik replied with a wink.

He was laying it on a little thickly. There had to be something else going on with him. Or maybe he was just a jackass. Definitely too soon to tell.

I made a ‘yeah I bet’ noise, raising both eyebrows at him. He chuckled. 

“Sorry, you just look so cute when you’re blushing!”

I highly doubted that. My distant Irish-Scottish heritage meant my orange hair came with naturally red skin and a plethora of freckles. Blushing had never been something I got called cute for. 

I glanced up as he took my hand, kissing it. “I hope you’ll enjoy dinner, however, my dear. I made almost all of it myself.” He stepped back with that announcement, gesturing to the fully laden table. 

I couldn’t help the disbelieving snort that left my lips at that. Matthew, too, was looking at his brother with a look of betrayal. 

“And I’m the Queen of the Nile!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I smiled as they continued to bicker about who made more of the food, James taking sides after a moment. It was an argument that could have taken place at any family dinner table. It almost made me forget the whole breaking-and-entering-demon thing. Not quite, but almost. 

Sam rolled his eyes at the fighting, clearly bored and hungry, eyeing the food laid out on the table. Damien seemed more amused by them, smiling slightly to himself. 

Demons being real was something that was going to take a while to adjust to, but it made me feel better that they fell prey to the same petty fights and sibling arguments that my own brother and I did.

I wondered what Chris would have done if he had been the one to be sent here. He was very, very gay, so preening and flirting was probably the answer, never mind that he was fourteen. I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought, covering my mouth with a hand when I realized I’d caught the attention of the five brothers and effectively disrupted the argument the three of them had been having

“Huh? Is something funny?” Matthew asked. I just shook my head. 

“Don’t worry about it. Thank you guys for making this fantastic food, by the way.”

“Oh! You’re welcome, miss.”

“Such a well-mannered young lady. Beautiful inside and out!” 

“Erik, knock it off!” Matthew said with a sharp look. 

His attention finally being pulled from the food, Sam looked up, glaring at Erik. “Seriously. You’re getting really annoying with that suck-up act.” 

“I’m just trying to be a gentleman!” Erik defended himself. “The young girl has been through a lot, and deserves good treatment.”

“There’s a difference between being a gentleman and being an obnoxious flirt,” James said, siding with the others. 

“Schooled even by James! You’re gonna need some cold water for that burn!” Matthew crowed. The other boys were laughing, obviously amused. I couldn’t help the small smile that came to my own lips, but I felt a bit bad. 

Erik’s constant flirting  _ was _ starting to make me slightly uncomfortable, but there was clearly something bothering him. I could see it in his eyes and the set of his face as he looked away from his brothers, glaring at the floor. Psychology wasn't my passion, but being raised by a practicing psychologist had left me with a few tricks. I was willing to put money on there being something going on with Erik that he needed to talk about.

_ Not your job, _ I reminded myself.

“By the way,” James said, catching my attention. “I don’t believe we caught your name. It sounded like you were going to introduce yourself before you fainted.”

I lifted my chin slightly, giving them a lopsided smile. “I prefer ‘passed out due to demonic energy drain,’ thank you very much.” James’ eyes sparkled with amusement, and I even got a brief snort of laughter from Sam. 

“I’m Abigail,” I said, withholding my last name. I doubted it would make a difference, but I’d take anything that made me feel like I was making even one good decision.

“It’s a pleasure to finally know your name,” James said with a nod. 

“Abigail is a nice name!” Matthew agreed. 

I inclined my head, accepting the compliment. “Before we start eating, I had a question…” I spoke up. In actuality I had roughly six hundred questions beating around inside my skull, but there were a couple that were a bit more immediately important than the others. 

They were all looking at me now, small mutterings of conversations between them falling silent. I felt my face heat a bit at having five sets of eyes on me. I lifted my chin again and pushed on. “I still don’t really understand how you all ended up here.”

The whole thing was wild, but I wanted to understand what had led a family of demons to collapse in the lobby of my grandfather's- of  _ my  _ mansion.

There was a brief, awkward silence. 

“Huh. How  _ do _ we explain?” Matthew mused, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Sam, however, knew exactly what he wanted to say to me on the point. “We were attacked, we came here to heal.” he snapped. “What’s so difficult to understand?” 

Erik opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off, glaring at Sam. “Yeah, I got that part. Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot. You might be demons or whatever, but I’m still a person, and I deserve a little more respect. I meant how did you get hurt? Should I- should we, be worried about them following you here?”

There was another moment of silence, Sam and I glaring at each other, until James started speaking. I turned my attention to him, trying to calm down a bit. Why did Sam get under my skin so much?

“We’ve been traveling for quite some time,” James started explaining. “We just recently came to town, when we were attacked by a band of… misfits. So in order to escape and heal, we came here for shelter. I don’t believe they will follow us here. Again, we apologize for the mess.”

I waved my hand dismissively at the apology, focussing more on the other part of the sentence. If the five of them had been hurt badly enough to retreat, it must have been serious. “Misfits? Other demons?”

They shook their heads. Sam had returned to staring at the food in the middle of the table, but there was some mixture of anger and shame written on his face.

“Not quite,” Erik said. 

“We’ll explain more tomorrow. You’ve already got a lot to process without more to think about.” 

I almost pushed it, annoyed at James for withholding information, but he was probably right. I definitely had a headache building behind my eyes. 

“Fine, I suppose.” That was when I noticed that they all seemed to look better. None of their injuries were there anymore. “You guys are alright now?” 

“Yep! All thanks to you!” Matthew chimed brightly. 

I tilted my head curiously at him, not sure what he was saying. They said they needed sexual energy to survive. Sure, Sam and Erik had kissed me, but none of the others had … unless they had done it while I was sleeping? I felt the panic I had managed to suppress earlier start to rise again.

“You see, beautiful,” Erik began explaining, interrupting my quickly panicking train of thought. “We feed on sexual energy, but we don’t just get it from kissing lovely ladies such as yourself.” I arched a brow at him, waiting for him to get to the point. “We can simply touch someone’s hand to obtain sexual energy. Almost everyone carries sexual energy, you know.”

I hummed vaguely. Interesting. Any physical contact meant they could feed. Questionable compulsion abilities aside, this was fascinating. It also helped me rein my panic back in and think about things with a more level head again.

“Is there anything else you wish to know?” James asked. 

I thought for a moment. The many, many questions I had were thundering around inside my head again. Those could wait, though there was one other thing I should probably ask. “Well. What are you guys gonna do now?” I asked. The answer to this one was definitely the most important at the moment.

“Yeah, what  _ are  _ we gonna do, James?” Matthew asked, turning to his brother. 

James sighed. “That is a good question. We just got here, and surely we’ll be hunted if we leave.”

“We can take ‘em, easily,” Sam retorted, expression fierce. I arched an eyebrow. Because that clearly went so well last time.

“Not without more training, Sam,” Erik replied, echoing my thoughts. “The result of that was evident in our last encounter with them.” 

They all fell silent for a moment, and looking at their pensive expressions, I suddenly felt bad for them. 

I had always known I was incredibly lucky. Not only had I grown up the daughter of a successful psychologist and her socialite wife, my grandfather, the CEO of an incredibly successful toy company, had left me a  _ mansion _ when he passed away. These boys had no one. Other than Sam, they had all shown reluctance, or at least restraint, when it came to using their powers on me. How were they going to survive out there? If someone figured out what they were, they would probably be sent off to some sort of government testing facility, and who knew what would happen to them. Nothing good. Did the charter of rights and freedoms apply to demons?

I suddenly thought of this house, this massive mansion, imagining living here by myself for at least a week. I’d be completely alone. 

I was used to being self-sufficient, it was a skill both mom and mother had been sure to teach Chris and I. But I hadn’t been truly alone in years. 

I’d never had many close friends. People had a tendency to want to use me for my money, and I didn’t appreciate that. I had my best friend Natalia, but she had moved to Vancouver last year to pursue a medical career when we graduated high school. My home life had never been quiet either. Mother worked from home most days, and once Chris was out of school the sound of his video games would echo around the house. Even beyond that, if I ended up home alone for whatever reason, I always had the horses, the dogs, the chickens... 

These men, they had no one. No one waiting for them at home, no one to give them advice, no one to bail them out if they got in trouble. No one to worry about whether or not they were okay.

_ You've had a good gap year, this'll be an adventure to end it on. _

Mom’s words rang through my head, and I took a deep breath, closing my eyes, trying to sort through my thoughts. 

Aunt Sylvia was the only one I would have to explain them to. The rest of my family was either out of state or out of country. I could do that. I adored my aunt, but she was a bit flighty at the best of times and would probably accept whatever I told her without questioning it.

Did I really want to do this? I could send them on their way and try to forget they had even been here. They weren’t my responsibility. I would be in the right, I was sure. They had broken into my house, used weird demon mojo on me. Then they had made sure I was safe in the bedroom, cleaned up after themselves, and made dinner for me. 

I finally spoke up, breaking the sad silence that had fallen over all of us. “I suppose…” Did I  _ want _ five guys living with me in this mansion? Especially five guys who could use their abilities to get whatever they wanted from me?

Today was stupid decision day, apparently.

“Spit it out already,” Sam snapped when I didn’t continue to speak. I shot him a look. I was going for a glare, but whatever it actually was made him pause, an apologetic look on his face. 

I took another steadying breath. “You could stay here.”

A sudden stillness fell over the room as they all froze, looking at me with something like hope in their eyes. They didn’t say anything, so I pressed on. “If you want to, anyway. It’s a big house, and there’s guest rooms in the… over there,” I gestured vaguely to the side of the house opposite to the master bedroom. I kind of remembered where they were from my previous visits. “This place is too big for me to be alone in, anyway. I do have a couple ground rules, though.”

“Yes?” James prompted.

“Any humans I have over are guests. As guests, you can’t use your powers on them, or otherwise cause them harm. Also we’re gonna have to have a talk about the importance of informed consent.” I looked at each of them individually, resisting the urge to let my eyes linger on Sam longer than the others.

“That sounds reasonable,” Damien agreed. I gave him a smile. 

“The other thing is I want help around the house. This place is huge, and I don’t know how my grandfather kept up with it.”

“That… is a generous offer, Abigail,” James said after a moment. “Are you sure? We don’t wish to burden you more than we already have.” 

I shot him a grin. “Listen, I’m a country girl at heart. This city life is a bit outside my area of expertise. If I had to be here, alone in this huge house, I would probably lose my mind. Besides, having people to help with chores would be a welcome change.”

“A wonderful idea!” Erik chimed in. “We get a place to train, and the lovely lady gets servants to help her around the house.”

I was about to laugh and reassure them that I hardly expected them to be servants, when Sam exploded. “What?! Are you serious?!”

“Shhh, be quiet Sam! I haven’t slept in a bed in days!” Matthew chimed in, glaring at his brother. 

Damien chuckled. All of them except Sam seemed on board. This was  _ definitely  _ going to be an adventure. 

“Gahh, fine. But we’re not staying here forever. Only until we can beat up that group of punks,” Sam finally agreed. 

I smirked triumphantly at him, and, much to my surprise, he blushed a bit, turning his glare on the table top in front of him. 

James was nodding at what he had said. “I think that is a reasonable time limit for our stay,” he agreed. 

I, personally, thought it was rather vague. But then again, so was ‘I’ll be staying here until the mansion sells,’ so I supposed I couldn’t complain too much. 

“Also, beautiful.” Erik was speaking to me, and I tilted my head curiously at him. He was looking at me through half-lidded eyes again. “If you need a bed fellow…”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “As tempting as you seem to think that offer is, I’m gonna have to decline,” I replied. 

He looked surprised, then his flirty smile returned. “The offer stands if you change your-”

“Erik. Knock it off,” James interrupted him. 

“What are we waiting for? Let’s celebrate and dig in!” Matthew suggested excitedly. 

“Finally,” Sam agreed. “I’m starving!”

The pair immediately started eating, stuffing their faces with whatever was within reach. I covered my mouth with a hand to hide my laugh as James’ eye twitched in disapproval. 

“Really you two?! You’re both acting like pigs!”

“Oh, let them have a little freedom, James,” Erik spoke up. “It’s not like we’ve eaten recently either. I’m sure they’ve been starving.”

“Still, that’s no excuse for stuffing their faces like backyard swine!” James snapped. 

Demons were real, I had just invited five of them to live with me for who knew how long, and two of them were shoveling food into their faces like it was going out of style. That was the line. I couldn’t hold it in any longer, letting out my first proper laugh since before I heard about my grandfather’s passing. I had always been self-conscious about my laugh, having been told it was loud and obnoxious by quite a few classmates growing up. But my insecurities weren’t enough to override the absolute absurdity of the situation I found myself in.

I wiped tears of mirth from the corners of my eyes, only for my laughter to redouble as I looked back up to see the incredulous expressions on Sam and Matthew’s face. 

“Is something funny?” Matthew asked through his mouthful. 

“What’re you laughing at?!” Sam indignantly asked simultaneously through his own half-chewed food. 

It took me a few seconds to get my laughter under control, but I did, sitting up a bit more in the mahogany chair. “Sorry,” I said, still kind of chuckling. “You’re both really funny, that’s all.”

Both of them turned pink, looking away to swallow their food. 

“S-Shut up,” Sam stuttered out. “We’re not funny, we’re hungry!”

“I noticed,” I agreed, amusement still colouring my voice. Sam glared at me, but I just smiled back. His blush deepened. He was kind of cute when he was flustered. 

Matthew regained his composure enough to speak up. “Uhm, well, we’re glad that we made you laugh!”

“Shut up Matthew!” Sam snapped, turning his glare from me to his younger brother across the table. 

I chuckled again as they started bickering once more, dishing myself up some fantastic looking food while I only half paid attention to their conversation. The food was phenomenal, and eating with new people who weren't my family or people I was expected to entertain was a pleasant change from my usual routine.

I would have happily sat there for quite a while, enjoying the food and the company, but our meal was interrupted by my phone ringing in my back pocket. When had the ringer turned on? I had kept it on silent for as long as I could remember. 

I pulled it out, intending to silence Tracy Chapman's Fast Car and go back to dinner, but the caller ID identified the caller as my aunt. “Sorry guys, gotta take this,” I said, pushing my chair back and taking a few steps away to answer it. 

“Hey, auntie Syl!” I chirped in my best ‘no, I didn’t just invite five demons to live with me for an unspecified amount of time’ voice. 

“Abigail!” came my aunt’s reply, her sing-song voice reminding me of the house finches that gathered on the bird feeder outside the kitchen window at home. “How was your flight, dear? You get to the mansion okay? I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to drive you.”

“It was pretty good, auntie. Yes, I’m here now, and don’t worry, it was an easy taxi ride.”

“Glad to hear it, love. I was sitting here watching my shows, when I realized something. Tomorrow is Saturday, yes?”

Immediately on edge, I hesitantly agreed. “Yes…?”

“Well, I’m so sorry to spring this on you dear, but your grandfather had agreed to help me out by hosting a party there at the mansion tomorrow. It’s too late for me to find another venue, so I wanted to check with you if it was alright to go forward with having it there as planned.”

I could tell from her tone that it wasn’t really a question. Aunt Sylvia was a great aunt, but this was her informing me that I would be hosting a party here tomorrow, not actually checking if it was alright. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You can’t host it at your place?”

There was a brief series of tuts from the other end of the line. “My house is in  _ shambles _ dear. The renos are nowhere near done.” My brow knit in confusion. 

“I thought you finished renovating the living room last month?”

“Well of course! This is the main hall reno! Keep up dear.”

“Ah.” Yes. Aunt Sylvia’s incessant renovations and remodels. Her house was almost constantly being done and redone. The local contractors must love her.

I sighed. “Well, alright then, auntie. What’s the occasion? I didn’t exactly pack any of my cocktail dresses.”

“Don’t worry your curly-haired head, dear!” she said. “I’ll bring you a dress, just text me your size. It’s for the executives of the Anderson toy company.”

I grimaced. A business party. Great. I would have to socialize with people who expected me to have opinions on a company that I had only ever passingly interacted with. 

“Alright auntie. I’ll do my best to get the place up to snuff.”

“Oh thank you dear, you’re my favourite Canadian niece!” 

That got a smile from me. “I’m your  _ only  _ Canadian niece.”

“Semantics! I’ll drop off your dress at five thirty tomorrow evening! Guests will start arriving at seven."

“See you then.”

I hung up the phone and closed my eyes, tilting my head back to sigh at the ceiling. “Uuuugh,” I groaned quietly.

“Is something wrong?” Erik asked. That was when I noticed all of the boys looking at me with interest.

I stepped back to the table, resting my hand on the back of my chair and opening my mouth to reply when Damien did it for me. 

“She has to put together a house party for her aunt.”

I nodded, sitting down with a thump, putting my elbows on the table and my head in my hands. “It’s been so long since I’ve had to organize a gathering like this,” I lamented. “I’m gonna have to stay up all night to get this place up to my aunt’s standards.”

“Why don’t we help you?” Matthew offered. “We pretty much just agreed to help you with the chores, right?”

“I don’t see why not,” James agreed. 

I looked up at them, surprised they would jump to offer. When I said help out with chores, I had meant day to day stuff, not something as big as prepping the house for a party. 

Sam opened his mouth, presumably to argue, but then he looked at me and whatever he saw in my face made him close his mouth, jaw clenching as he swallowed whatever he had been about to say. 

“We’ll take care of everything, miss Abigail. Just leave it to us.” James smiled at me, and I nodded gratefully, returning his smile. 

“Thank you, but I’ll definitely help out. Also, I appreciate the thought, but please, just Abigail. None of the 'miss' stuff.”

James tilted his head in acknowledgement, taking another bite of his food. 

I quickly finished my dinner, thinking about what all needed to get done while the others talked amongst themselves.

Letting them stay, letting them help entertain executives from my grandfather’s company, was probably a bad decision. No, it was definitely a bad decision. But I already  _ made _ the bad decision, and I wouldn’t go back on it. I was too stubborn for my own good. 

Once I was done my food, I moved to take my dishes to the kitchen. 

“I got it.”

I blinked, startled as Sam took my plate and glass from me. “You sure? I wouldn’t want you to stress yourself.” I snarked reflexively. I bit my lip, regretting it immediately, but I couldn’t take it back.

Irritation flashed across Sam’s face, but he didn’t say anything, just turned and took my and his dishes into the kitchen. I turned back to the table and arched an eyebrow at Matthew, the only one who seemed to have paid any attention to that interaction. He just shrugged before turning back to what was left of his dinner. 

I headed for the stairs, yawning. “Thanks for the food guys, see you tomorrow.”

I headed upstairs and took a quick shower before getting changed into my PJs and brushing my teeth. I was turning off my light a few minutes later when I heard Matthew shrieking from the direction of the lobby.

“Where did it go?! Abigail left it right here and now it’s gone!”

Ah. The doll Matthew made for me. 

That sounded like a problem for future Abigail.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, playing the seduce me games: are we gonna address mc having prophetic dreams at several points in the series? can it be brought up like, even once? no? i have to do everything in this house myself
> 
> for real though, i hyperfixated on this basically all day and got it done so here's chapter 3

I couldn’t see. Why the hell couldn’t I see? I could hear people shuffling around me, the slight echo telling me I was in a fairly large room.

I fought the urge to scream hysterically, instead slowing my breathing and tentatively trying to move. My efforts were rewarded by the bite of rough rope digging into my wrists. They were tied in front of me. If I had some time to calm down, I could probably work myself free. And my mouth wasn’t covered. That meant I  _ could _ start screaming if I heard someone I thought would help me nearby.

The thought helped my heart rate slow down a bit, letting me focus on the other things my senses were telling me.

I was sitting cross legged on a cold floor, my back leaning against something damp that had a disturbing amount of give to it. Waterlogged wood? God I hoped it was waterlogged wood. A cold breeze hit my skin, making me shiver. Was I in some sort of abandoned building? It smelled industrial, gasoline, rot, and wet cement. There was the sound of moving water nearby, and closer than that there was the sound of shuffling and conversations in voices pitched too low for me to-

“Looky here. The bitch is awake,” snarled an unfamiliar voice a couple feet in front of me, sounding like it belonged to a man who smoked six packs of cigarettes a day. 

“Fuck off,” I responded reflexively. 

Ah yes, antagonize your kidnappers, Abigail. That is  _ bound _ to end well. 

The owner of the strange, grating voice laughed, and a hot hand grabbed my face, pinching my cheeks uncomfortably. “She thinks she’s tough, we’ll show her-”

He was interrupted by the sound of rending metal coming from behind me, his grip falling away from my face in surprise. 

“Get the fuck away from her.”

“Sam?” I asked, incredulous. I still couldn’t see, but I recognized his voice. It was full of rage and the promise of violence. I found that oddly comforting. It meant that he, if not the rest of the incubi, wasn’t responsible for… whatever this was.

Sam just snarled in response. 

Unable to see, I had no idea what happened next, only that it involved the sound of thumping, wet tearing, and some sort of warm liquid splattering against my face as the first, unfamiliar voice screamed in pain. 

While I had previously been sort of scared in a rather distant, dissociative kind of way, the combination of violent sounds and being splattered by what I assumed was blood meant I was now pushing terrified. 

Muscular arms wrapped around me shortly after the screaming stopped, scooping me up off the cold ground. I couldn’t help but shrink slightly away from them, not entirely sure what was going on. “It’s me, you’re alright,” came Sam’s voice, a bizarre reverberation to it now. I didn’t have a chance to respond before he pulled whatever was blocking my vision off. I closed my eyes, blinded by the sudden light. 

I was suddenly certain that when I opened my eyes and looked at Sam, I would see something I wasn’t ready for.

The arms around me shifted slightly, becoming softer, and the strange echo that surrounded Sam and I faded and was replaced by the faint hum of a central air system. I was suddenly a bit calmer than I had been a moment before. The arms around me were rocking me slightly, which surprised me. Sam didn’t seem like the type to hold someone and rock them. 

I blearily opened my eyes, taking a moment to register that I was in the master bedroom of the mansion. Then I realized that it wasn’t Sam holding me, but Damien. He was looking down at me, royal blue eyes full of worry. He had watched that weird nightmare, huh? 

For some reason, I blushed furiously at the thought of him having seen it. “Uhm. Hi?” My voice was a hoarse croak. 

Weirdly enough, him holding me made me feel… safe? Ugh, my survival instincts needed a tune up. 

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

I suppressed the urge to leap away from him. For one, I didn’t think my muscles would let me. They were stiff and slow, not exactly ready for quick movement. For another, I was going to be living with these people for the foreseeable future. If I didn’t start actively  _ trying _ to trust them I would drive myself bonkers. 

I nodded in response to Damien’s question, still trying to blink away the cobwebs of my nightmare. That was one of my weird ones.

I’d had a few dreams like that before, dreams or nightmares (mostly nightmares) that felt... different somehow. Coincidentally, I always told myself, most of those had come true in some way. Normally not exactly how I had dreamt them, but the similarities were always eerie. I’d always brushed it off as coincidence, a strange turn of fate. Dreams could be weird sometimes, after all. But now… now I knew demons existed. Could prophetic dreams be real too? 

Oh good, Abigail. Let’s go on a thought-journey about all the other things that  _ might _ be real now that you know demons are a thing. Very constructive use of your time. Also. Mind reader. 

I shook myself a bit and gave Damien what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Thanks for waking me up from that. What time is it?” 

He looked at me for a moment, and I could see him debating bringing up the prophetic dream train of thought I’d just had. I had the instinct to think that I didn’t want him to do that, but I quickly suppressed it. Purposefully manipulating him like that wasn’t something I wanted to do. 

“It’s nine in the morning,” he said after a second. I blinked in surprise. That was pretty late for me. “James and I were making breakfast when I- I uh-”

“When you ‘heard’ my dream?” I finally managed to sit up out of his arms and slide out of his lap, yawning as I physically shook myself to try and get rid of the last strands of the nightmare that still clung to me. My hair bounced around me like a weird lion’s mane as the kerchief I had it wrapped in overnight fell off.

Damien nodded, standing up and giving me a bit of space. 

There was a quick rap on the doorframe, drawing my attention to James standing in the open door, peering in with concern. “Is everything alright?”

I yawned and stretched, nodding. “‘S all good.”

“That’s good. I’m assuming you had a nightmare?”

I nodded again. No secrets in this house. Mind reading aside, was this what having human roommates was like?

“Well, why don’t you come downstairs and have some breakfast? I’m sure some nice food will take your mind off of what you dreamt of,” James suggested. 

I grinned. “The way to a girl’s heart is through her stomach,” I agreed, swinging myself out of bed. 

They left the room and I quickly got changed into yoga pants and a big t-shirt, using an elastic to knot the excess fabric at my hip. I also tossed four hairbands around my wrist. I’d need all of them to even attempt to tame my hair in preparation for the chores we’d need to get done today. James and Damien were waiting at the top of the stairs, and we all headed down to the dining room. I hummed in appreciation as the scent of cooking bacon hit my nose. “Smells great,” I told them.

Damien chuckled. “It’s almost ready. You can have a seat at the table while you wait, if you’d like.”

I considered insisting on helping out, but something about being in a room with people I still didn’t fully trust and many sharp knives made me balk. Making an effort to trust them more didn’t necessarily have to extend  _ quite  _ that far. I pulled out the same chair I used last night and sat down as Damien followed James to the kitchen. 

I put my chin in my hands, studying the knots and whorls in the table as my mind went straight back to the dream I’d had. It had been so long since I had a dream that felt like that. The last time was when I was still in high school. If this was another dream that would come true in some way, how would it come to pass? Would I literally get kidnapped? Or was it a metaphor of some kind? Jeez, I hoped it was a metaphor. Getting kidnapped would  _ suck _ . 

I was shaken out of my train of thought by a hand suddenly plopping on top of my head, squishing my wild bed head. 

Startled, I glanced over to see Sam, looking blearily down at me. “Mornin’,” he said through a yawn. “You alright?”

I arched an eyebrow at the hand on my head. The voluntary physical contact, coupled with the fact that he sounded genuinely interested in my answer to his question caught me a little off guard. I hadn’t expected him to care at all, but he actually seemed interested. Or he was pretending for some reason. That didn’t really seem like his style, though. “I’m good. You good?”

He shrugged, ruffling my hair before taking his hand back. “I’m good,” he grunted, moving a bit further down the table. 

Aaaand I was blushing. Just a little, but there was definitely some heat in my cheeks. Sonofabitch. 

I couldn’t help but notice the seat he chose was closer to me than the one he had taken last night. That made me feel… pleased? Sonofabitch again.

What the hell was wrong with me?! He had used magic demon powers to force me to kiss him,  _ and  _ he’d been nothing but rude to me until literally right that moment. Abigail Anderson’s descent into crazytown continued, clearly. 

“Hey! Is the food done yet?! I’m starving!” Sam yelled towards the kitchen, once more breaking me from my train of thought.

“There’s no need to yell, Sam!” James shouted back.

“You’re yelling too!”

“Don’t argue with me!”

I snorted, putting my chin back in my hands, watching Sam's jaw clench in annoyance. 

“What?” he asked, irritated at my amusement.

I blinked innocently. "I was just thinking it's great to see brothers getting along so well."

"Can we not yell so early in the morning," Erik interrupted whatever retort Sam had been about to fire back, walking in with fingers pressed to his temples as he took the seat directly to my right. Were James and Damien the only other morning people? "It's not as though we're in the castle."

That made me sit up a bit straighter, head coming out of my hands. “Mmm ‘scuzi? Castle?”

It was Sam’s turn to be amused. “Yeah, we have a castle back home,” he said, putting on a falsely nonchalant tone. “Our dining room’s ten times bigger than this room.”

Erik glared at his brother. “Yes. This room is much smaller. Ergo, wouldn’t it be logical to  _ not _ yell?”

I looked from one incubus to the other curiously, some of the questions I had refrained from asking last night bubbling to the surface once more. “Where do demons call home anyway?”

“The Abyssal Plain,” they answered simultaneously before glaring at one another. 

That wasn’t what I had been expecting. Although, ‘California’ or ‘Florida’ also hadn’t seemed likely so I probably shouldn’t have been all that surprised.

“I assume,” I said slowly. “You mean ‘plain’ like plain of existence not ‘plane’ like airplane?”

“Duh,” Sam replied, smug and amused. 

“Well excuse me, Mr. I Have An Abyssal Castle, I didn’t realize I was punching royalty yesterday,” I said, putting a hand to my chest as though I was scandalized by my behaviour. “Let me show you the respect you so clearly deserve, my liege.” I squished my cheeks between the heels of my hands, stuck out my tongue, and blew a raspberry at him.

That got an honest to god grin from Sam, and Erik laughed.

“She’s got you there, Sam.”

“What’s so funny?” Matthew asked, rubbing at his eyes as he walked in and flopped down in a chair. 

I inspected my nails nonchalantly. “We were being mature adults.”

Sam snorted, but didn’t say anything, and Erik just laughed again. 

Matthew looked between us for a moment before giving up. “Never mind. When is breakfast gonna-”

At that, James and Damien came in carrying trays of plates dished up with eggs, bacon, and waffles, along with mugs of coffee. 

“Mmmm, smells fantastic,” I said, taking my elbows off the table so Damien had space to set my plate in front of me while the other incubi made various noises of approval. 

“No problem at all,” James said as he and Damien sat themselves. 

I glanced across the table. “Is there any… hmmm.” My eyes landed on the bottle of syrup they had brought out. It wasn’t a brand I was familiar with, but that wasn’t the issue I had with it. “That will not do at all.” 

“Is… something wrong?” James asked, also taking stock of what was on the table. 

“Gimme a sec,” I replied, pushing my chair back and heading for the kitchen. 

“I’m sure we can-” James started. 

“She’s on a mission,” Damien cut him off, a hint of amusement in his voice. 

“Alright, but what’s wrong?” Matthew asked.

“Good lord, would you guys just be a little  _ patient?! _ ” I hollered from where I was in the walk in pantry before lowering my volume to mutter to myself. “They’re worse than my brother, can’t wait five seconds, gotta know right that moment. I know we sent grandpa some for Christmas, he can’t have used it all- ah-ha!” 

I returned to the table, a triumphant gleam in my eye as I set a maple leaf shaped bottle half full of golden syrup down in front of my plate and flopped back into my seat.

Sam was looking from me, to the bottle I had brought, to the one that was already on the table in confusion. “What-?”

“This, my scruffy and cantankerous friend, is Canadian maple syrup. Also known as proper maple syrup, good maple syrup, real maple syrup, take your pick.” I popped the bottle open and drizzled a healthy amount on my waffles before sliding it down the table for whoever else wanted it. “I highly recommend trying it, I prefer it over the other stuff.” I hacked a piece of waffle off with the side of my fork and stabbed it. “If y’all don’t like it that's fine, but us Canadian’s know our syrup.” I shoved the chunk of waffle in my mouth, raising an eyebrow at the boys as they stared at me. “Just letting you know.”

“I’ll give it a try!” Matthew was the first to take the bottle up. 

As we ate, years of helping mother with her event planning took over and I started listing what all would need to get done before the party that night. Erik grabbed a piece of paper to write out the tasks I listed off, and we divvied up the work. Or, I should say, the boys divvied up the work and refused to assign me a job. 

“You can help one of us with our task,” James said, trying to placate me as I glared at him from the other end of the table. 

I grumbled a bit more, but in the end, there really wasn’t anything else I really  _ could _ have done. They had been very efficient. 

They finished before me, and scattered to their various jobs as I loaded my dirty dishes into the dishwasher and used the elastics on my wrist to pull my hair back. 

It was amazing how quickly this ridiculous situation had become… well not quite  _ normal _ , but acceptable. Nothing brought people together like preparing a house for an overbearing aunt’s party, I supposed. 

Who was I going to help? 

After a brief moment of consideration I decided to give Sam a hand. 

The driveway was pretty long, and there would probably be a decent amount of weeds to be pulled, and there were a fair few windows to be cleaned as well. Besides, I wanted to be outside in the sun and fresh air. 

I gave Damien a wave as I walked through the lobby and out the front door into the sunny day. 

I wasn’t expecting to see Sam standing at the side of the driveway slowly going through martial art forms. For the first time I noticed just how muscled he was. His bare arms weren’t quite muscle-man chiseled, but they were big and powerful looking, muscles flexing beneath his skin.

I shook myself, dislodging that train of thought and focussing on my annoyance at him not getting his assigned job done. “Now, I could be wrong, but this doesn’t look like cleaning up the driveway,” I said. He barely acknowledged my presence, giving me a quick glance over his shoulder. 

“Didn’t know you wanted something to do, Red. I already finished.” I snorted at the nickname, but let it slide.

I took a quick look around and was startled to see that it did, in fact, look like he had finished what needed to get done. The green bin was full of weeds, the entryway was swept, and the windows sparkled. 

There was no way he had gotten all that done in the minute and a half it had taken me to put my dishes away and get my hair shoved in a bun. He wasn’t even out of breath. Damien had mentioned the others all had abilities as well, was Sam’s speed? That would also explain how he had gotten up and in front of me so fast last night as well… hmm. 

“Alright, Barry Allen,” I muttered.

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry about it.” 

He shrugged and went back to his forms. I stood there for a moment, debating going to help one of the other incubi, but something in how Sam was moving kept me standing there. 

He looked more relaxed than I had seen him, the muscles of his back and arms loose. I knew there was more to him than the rough and tumble tough guy act he put on. The guy who growled and grumbled and asked if he should care about my name didn’t mesh with the one who genuinely wanted to know how I was and worked through those poses like he was meditating.

Something in me wanted to know what was behind the angry façade.

Bad Abigail. Bad. Stop it. Don’t engage with random men who break into your grandfather’s mansion.

Taichi. That was what he was doing. It had taken a moment, but the self defense lessons I had taken all through high school finally identified a couple of the forms he was going through. I hadn’t taken much taichi, just enough to know it didn’t really suit me. Chris had taken a bit more though, and I practiced with him sometimes, enough to recognize it. It wasn’t the sort of martial art I would have thought Sam would go for. 

Against my better judgement, I still wanted to know more about him. Oh jeez. Was part of the reason I had let them stay just plain curiosity? I had loads of questions I wanted to ask them about where they came from, what their abilities were, what they were doing here in the first place… and yeah, I wanted to know more about Sam specifically. 

Damnit. Part of the reason I let them stay was plain curiosity.

Now, I didn’t have time to unpack all that. 

I really should just go back inside. Maybe Matthew needed help with the food, or maybe Damien needed help with the lobby. I could even just disappear upstairs, dig my laptop out of my suitcase or give Natalia a call. I had no clue what I’d tell her about… all this. If I told her the truth, that I had demons living with me she’d just think I was joking around. Or call a wellness check on me. 

No, hiding wasn’t an option. I wouldn’t let panic or shame control me. Stupid Decision Day had officially been extended to Stupid Decision Weekend. 

I walked out and joined Sam, standing next to him and following along with his poses. 

He opened one eye and peered narrowly at me for a moment. “What are you doing?”

“If you try really hard, I bet you can figure it out on your own.”

“This isn’t meant to be fun, you know.”

“Be still my beating heart. You don’t say?” I blinked at him, putting on my best ‘dumb girl’ expression.

He closed his eye again, focussing back on what he was doing. There was a small furrow in his brow now, irritation or confusion maybe. 

I allowed myself a small smile, continuing to follow along with him.

The sun felt good on my skin, warm, but not warm enough that I was too worried about burning. Maybe my freckles would darken up a bit. They always faded a bit through the Alberta winter, and I missed how high contrast they usually were. 

We kept at it for a while before I decided to break the silence. “Taichi, huh? You didn’t strike me as the type.”

He opened an eye again to peer at me warily, continuing through his poses. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I shrugged. “You seem more about power and action, less focus and slow motions. Like, I’m more of a krav maga girl.”

He paused mid-form, opening the other eye. “What’s that?” 

My face split into a grin, also pausing mid-motion. “It’s pretty great. It’s about taking your opponent out of the fight as quickly as you can, and making sure they stay down.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Right. You could definitely take someone out in a fight,” he said sceptically. 

He was about six inches taller than me, and while working with horses almost my whole life had kept me in good shape, he definitely had a solid amount on me in terms of muscle mass.

I smirked. 

Without warning, I pivoted so I was in front of him and took a quick half-step forward, hooking the outside of my right leg around the inside of his left ankle, yanking him backwards while giving his shoulder a quick shove on the same side to direct his fall. With a yelp of surprise, he went down, crashing onto his back in the soft grass beside the driveway. 

I burst out laughing at the expression of outrage on his face as he lay there, shocked at the turn of events that had led him to this point. 

“Size and muscle don’t matter if you don’t get a chance to use them,” I told him. Still laughing, I extended a hand to him to help him up. He looked suspiciously at it for a moment before taking it. 

Suddenly, I was lying on his chest.

The laughter died in my throat as I tried to process what had just happened. Either he miscalculated how much weight he could put on me, or he had intentionally pulled me on top of him. 

Lying there on top of him, I had an excellent view of his very very green eyes, and the incredibly vibrant blush spreading across his cheeks. That and his flustered expression told me it was probably the first option. I felt that my face was hot with a blush that probably rivaled his own. That’s when I realized our hands were trapped between us, still clasped together, the back of his hand pressed to my chest. And yet my muscles still didn’t want to respond. We just stared at each other for a few seconds that seemed to last an eternity. 

I finally managed to choke out a strangled laugh, rolling off him so I was lying beside him in the grass, looking up at the bright blue sky. Weird. That was a weird moment. I definitely wasn’t going to address it. Nope nope nope. No need to examine what that was.

“Sorry, you were really asking for it, though,” I said, glancing back at him. 

He was looking at me like he was trying to figure me out. I arched my eyebrows at him, incredibly aware of the blush still lingering on my cheeks. 

“Can I help you?” I asked.

He shook his head and turned his attention back to the sky, seeming to agree with me that the ground was a good place to stay for now. “You’re strange, even for a human.”

I snorted. “I’m gonna take that as a compliment.” 

He shrugged like he wasn't sure how he meant it himself.

I looked back up at the virtually cloudless sky and changed the subject. “I know it’s only been a day, but this weather’s making me miss Alberta. And my family.”

“What’s it like?” he asked. I glanced back at him, but he was studying the sky like I had been. His face was almost back to its usual shade, but still had a faint trace of his previous blush across his cheeks. 

He sounded interested enough, so I decided to answer. “Alberta? I love it. There’s a tonne of snow in the winter; there’s still some on the ground now, actually. My family lives on a farm near Banff. It’s pretty close to the Rocky Mountains, and there’s a lot of trails for horseback riding, ATV-ing, hiking, that sort of thing. The views are fantastic, one of the pictures on the wall upstairs is the view of the mountains from my home, if you wanna take a look. My favourite thing about it is the dinosaurs, though. There’s this town a couple hours away, Drumheller, that has this fantastic museum-” I stopped, realizing how much I was rambling. “Sorry.”

I kept staring straight up, pretending to find the sky super interesting. I heard Sam give a low chuckle. 

“It’s fine. You said your family lives on a farm?”

“Yup,” I agreed. “It’s not a working farm, we just have a few chickens and a couple horses. We rent out the fields in the summer to cattle ranchers though. I do most of the chores. My little brother is still in high school, one parent works in town, and the other works from home, but isn’t really… suited for farm work.”

“Oh?”

I made a noncommittal noise and shrugged, the grass we were lying in tickling my neck. Sam was surprisingly easy to talk to. I considered for a moment. 

I was surprised to find that I  _ wanted  _ to tell him about my family. I had decided (against all logic) to let him and his brothers stay, and they had been surprisingly kind. I was starting to trust them despite both myself and common sense. And it was nice to have… ‘friends’ was definitely too strong. But it was nice to be around people close to my age that I wasn’t related to. 

“There’s four of us,” I started slowly. “My brother, Chris, is a few years younger than me. He’s fourteen, in grade nine. Loves video games, hates helping with the chickens. Phineas, his horse, is his pride and joy.” I smiled fondly. “He’s already taller than me, which is annoying.”

“You  _ are  _ short,” Sam said with a smirk.

I smacked his shoulder, but there was no strength behind it. “Shut up,” I laughed before continuing. “My mother is a sweetheart. She’s the daughter of the grandfather who left me this.” I gestured at the mansion. “She loves to cook and bake, and she always knows what to say if you go to her with a problem, or even if you’re just upset and need someone to talk to. She’s not very physical though. She’s shorter than me, and she tries, but she’s not really up to shoving the horses around when they get rowdy, or cleaning the saddles or… most of what needs to get done chore-wise.”

I took a deep breath, not really sure how he’d react to the next part. I wasn’t ashamed of my moms or anything, I just never knew how people would respond, and I habitually braced for the worst just in case. “Then there’s my other mom.”

He… had literally no reaction. He just kept staring at the sky, the slight tilt of his head showing he was still listening. Huh. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Sexualities probably weren’t a huge deal to literal sex demons. I continued. “Mom is a lot more… I’m gonna go with business minded? She’s very organized and goal-oriented. She’s really good with technical things. She’s a professional psychologist.”

I rolled onto my stomach, crossing my arms in the grass and resting my cheek on the back of my hands so I could look at Sam without craning my neck. “How about your family?” Startled, he glanced at me, staying on his back. 

“You’ve met all that matter,” he said with a frown. There was something dark in his green eyes. Maybe there was bad blood between him and his parents? 

I returned the frown, more playful than he was, hoping some teasing would lighten the mood. “C’mon, Sam. I told you about my lesbian moms and Canadian dinosaurs, you’ve gotta have  _ something _ to say about your life back in the Abyssal wherever. You lived in a  _ castle _ . Were you guys lords or something?”

He shrugged, something close to anger flickering momentarily across his face. “Why do you care?” 

His tone was so dismissive and apathetic that it took me aback. I thought we were having fun sharing time, but he either didn’t trust me, or didn’t care enough about what I thought of him to open up. Both options stung, especially considering I had just shared a few things about my family. 

“I just wanna know more about you.” 

The words were out before I had time to consider them. His eyes widened in surprise at my answer. I looked down at the grass, yanking a couple pieces out, taken aback myself. That was dumb. Why had I said that? It was true, but why had I said it out loud with my mouth? Stupid. 

"Forget it. I should go see if one of the others needs my help.”

I got up and dusted myself off. I could feel Sam’s eyes on me, and I glanced down at him for a second before turning to head back into the mansion. 

His green eyes were full of some emotion I couldn’t quite pin down, and he looked like he wanted to say something. But he didn’t, and I shut the door behind me, something uncomfortably close to disappointment tightening my chest. 

~~~

“Whatcha need help with?”

Damien looked up at me in surprise from where he was wiping down a small side table towards the back of the entryway. “I thought you were helping Sam?”

I raised my eyebrows, trying to shove my stupid illogical emotions down as far as I could. “He’s a bit of a, pardon the turn of phrase, speed demon, and got it all done without me.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds like Sam. I’ve got a lot of it done, but if you want to grab a cloth I wouldn’t mind some help getting the last few surfaces dusted.”

I nodded, grabbing a rag, happy that he didn’t ask about the fifteen-odd minutes I had spent outside doing presumably nothing with his brother. We cleaned in companionable silence for a little bit, Damien humming something I didn’t recognize under his breath, and me thinking about anything except the conversation I had just had with Sam. 

I ran through a couple subjects before my brain latched onto Damien’s mind reading ability, the reason I was performing these mental gymnastics. 

I wondered what his range was. Could he hear thoughts from the other side of the mansion? All the way out to Chicago? How did it work? Was it some sort of biological function? No, he said it was specific to him, not a general demon thing. Was it magic? Wait, was magic real? Not the point right now. The point was that hearing what everyone was thinking all the time must be  _ wild _ , and-

Damien had stopped humming. 

I flinched. “Sorry,” I said. “I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around… everything. I’ll work on that.”

I glanced at him, wincing at his furrowed brow. I was just batting a thousand today, wasn’t I?

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’m used to it.”

“No, that’s not fair to you and I  _ will  _ worry about it,” I told him. I bit my lip for a moment, debating with myself for a moment. Screw it, I’d already messed up, might as well ask one or two of the questions I had.

“Do people just think stuff at you rather than speaking out loud? Or not tell you things because they expect you to just know?”

He nodded. “Sometimes, yes.”

“Does that bother you?” I didn’t really know why I was following this train of thought. All I knew was that it was easier to keep my mind distracted when I was talking. I was also getting the sense that Damien didn’t really talk about himself much. Or even just talk, really. Last night he had hardly said a word at the dinner table. Maybe this would be good for him. The familiarity of untangling another person’s thought process was definitely helping me calm the hell down. Mom and I had many a conversation about movie and TV characters, picking apart their motivations and various hangups. Now, real people were, obviously, different from characters in media. But I could tell I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it now that I was on this train of thought, and I’d much rather talk it out than subject Damien to listening solely to my internal monologue.

He froze, pausing his dusting. “I… don’t think anyone has asked me that before.”

I returned my attention to the banister I was working on, giving him time to think about his response. He didn’t seem upset by my prodding, which was a good sign. Both in making me feel like less of an asshole and in helping him work through his own emotions.

“Yes,” he answered slowly. “Yes I suppose it does bother me.”

I nodded. “That makes sense. Let me know if I’m off base here, or if you just want me to shut up, really. I assume people don’t know how to react when you tell them about the-” I lifted my free hand beside my head and wiggled my fingers “-and they end up pushing you away because they’re scared, or freaked out, or whatever. So you stop telling them, but a lie of omission is still a lie and feels weird, so you just… don’t get close to people. It’s hard to make real, lasting connections with someone when you’re hiding a huge part of yourself.”

I paused, but Damien didn’t say anything, so I kept prattling, focussing my eyes on my dusting. Mom would be disappointed in me. The point of therapy was the person getting to talk,  _ then _ the therapist got to chime in with their insights. Whoops.

“Which sucks,” I continued, “because your brothers are the only ones you feel like you can talk to. They’re great, I’m sure, but they don’t really  _ get _ it, do they? I mean, it’s hard for  _ anyone  _ to understand what it’s like to have a… a sort of sixth sense, I guess, that they don’t have. And they probably end up saying or thinking some pretty hurtful things without realizing it. Or hey, intentionally, because they’re your brothers and taking the piss out of each other is just something siblings do. 

“Then there’s the matter of people expecting you to just kinda know stuff. That sucks. You already feel like an outcast because basically no one wants to spend time with you, then when they do they expect you to pull things from their mind, which is something you actively avoid doing because it makes you feel even more like an outcast. It must get pretty lonely.”

I finished dusting my side of the banister, looking over to see Damien, stopped about halfway up, just sort of looking at me with an unreadable expression. 

I looked down at the dirty cloth I was holding, suddenly realizing where my stream of consciousness ramblings had ended up. 

“I’m sorry. That’s probably nothing new to you. For the record, I’m doing my best to trust you to not share around my deep-dark thoughts or use them against me or whatever. I can’t promise I’ll be perfect about that, there’s a hell of a lot for me to adjust to, but you don’t really strike me as the type to be shitty about what you learn from overhearing people’s thoughts.”

“Don’t apologize, I don’t think I’ve ever analyzed why I feel the way I feel. It was… interesting to have it broken down like that. You’re very observant… and that’s a lot of trust to put in someone you met a day ago.”

He was right. It was. 

I shrugged, sorting through my reasoning while Damien resumed cleaning, leaning my hip on the banister and staring at the wall. “My mom is a psychologist. A good one. She has all the tools to diagnose us, manipulate us, figure out what we’re thinking and why. But she doesn’t. We trust her not to. Because she knows that it’s not fair that she has the advantage, the training to figure out exactly how to make us tick, and she’d never use that against us. Now, whether or not she has a notebook with our various diagnosis written in it is another story.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Obviously it’s not a perfect comparison, but there are similarities between you and her. Just because you know what people are thinking doesn’t mean you’re gonna use that against them.

“I used to think I was a good judge of character, and you guys are really putting that to the test. Honestly, I’m kind of at the point where I think you guys would’ve already done something to me if that was the grift.” 

Damien reached the top of the stairs, and I gave myself a bit of a shake, turning to him with a wry smile. “Again, sorry for getting up in your grill like that. It’s been a weird two days and I kinda latched onto that li’l bit of familiarity. I didn’t really give any actionable things to help with your whole situation, did I? Modern counseling doesn’t really have any cognitive behavioural tricks to help with mind-reading.”

He chuckled. “In all honesty, I don’t know what  _ can _ be done about all this.” He gestured to himself. “It would hardly be fair for me to expect you to sort it all out within a day.”

I grinned, reaching up to ruffle his hair. “You’re fine the way you are, Damien. You’ll drive yourself nuts if you worry too much about how others see you. Now. Unless you need more insightful commentary about things outside of our control, I’m gonna go give Matthew a hand.”

Damien shook his head. “I think the entryway is all good. I’ll go check on James.”

“Think fast!” I called, tossing him my dirty cloth before spinning and sitting side-saddle on the railing, sliding down it to the bottom of the stairs with a whoop. 

That had been weird. I had been very weird. He hadn’t seemed offended though, and it had successfully taken my mind off my conversation with Sam and made me feel better, so I guessed I’d count it as a win? 

Damien took the long way down the stairs, but he gave me a smile before heading off to help James with the garden. 

“You good, Erik?” I asked as I entered the dining room. 

He was standing on one of the chairs, big rainbow feather duster in hand, knocking cobwebs loose from the ornamental chandelier. He had his tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth with focus when I walked in, but as soon as he realized I was there the tongue disappeared, and he shot me a suave smile. 

“But of course, princess. Don’t worry your pretty little head about me.”

Did he mean to be patronizing? Was that intentional? I arched an eyebrow at him. “Uh huh. Well, my pretty little head is gonna go help Matthew, so give one of us a call if you end up needing a hand.”

I absolutely did not have it in me to psychoanalyze another person today, so  _ that  _ was gonna have to wait.

I didn’t give Erik a chance to respond, pushing the swinging kitchen doors open. 

“Hey! No interruptions!” Matthew called from beside the oven. He was wearing a pair of red oven mitts, holding a baking sheet of something that smelled like cheese and filo pastry. 

“Hmmmmm, I mean, you  _ could  _ kick me out, I suppose,” I said, hopping up so I was sitting on the black granite counter next to a cooling rack full of more goodies. “But even if you don’t need help, I would argue,” I grabbed a neat square of filo pastry and popped it in my mouth, “that more company is better than less company.” My words were muffled by cheese and spinach, but he got the gist. “These are very good.”

He narrowed his eyes at me as he set the hot tray on the stovetop. “Fine. You can stay. But no more sampling the goods!”

“No promises,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes at him.

He rolled his eyes. “Was Sam driving you nuts?” he asked, turning his back to me as he began to shift the finger food from hot tray to cooling rack. 

I snagged another canape from the cooling rack. “Is it that much of an issue that y’all just know?”

Matthew laughed. “Sam’s always been like that. He doesn’t really socialize like the rest of us. I don’t think he really knows how making friends works.”

“Why is that?” I shoved my pilfered pastry in my mouth as Matthew turned around, and smiled innocently through closed lips as he narrowed his eyes at me. 

“He’s got some issues with authority,” he said. “A lot of people were pretty scared of him. Not that you have anything to be scared of,” he quickly added. 

He grabbed a mixing bowl of… something, and started stirring. I took the opportunity to swallow my mouthful, suddenly on edge again. 

“I guess time will tell…?”

Matthew sighed. “Most people only see one side of Sam. The dumb, angry brute. There’s more to him than that, but he’s too closed off for most people to see it. It’s like he’s scared of what people will think of him if he shows any softness.”

I nodded slowly. “Hmm. I guess I can understand that. But it has the unfortunate side effect of making him slightly intolerable.”

He laughed. “Yeah, it kinda does, doesn’t it?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. Maybe. Just maybe, I could have overreacted to Sam shutting me down. He didn’t owe me any explanations for anything, let alone information on his family. Having a bit of time to process my emotions, I thought the issue was on my end. I had thought we were making some sort of connection, and when he shut me down it hit me harder than it should have. It wasn’t his fault I misinterpreted the conversation.

Ugh, I was all out of sorts. Now the only question was if it was because of the boys as a whole, or because… nah. It definitely wasn’t something else.

I absently reached for another canape, but Matthew smacked my hand away. 

“Alright! Out of the kitchen!” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CEO of wildly inconsistent chapter lengths. anyway, here's the party. cheers

“Hey, James, can we talk for a sec?”

James closed the book he was flipping through and set it down on the side table next to him. 

“Of course mi- Abigail,” he said, catching himself with a rueful smile. 

I stepped fully into the library, running a hand over the spines of the nearby books, eyes skating across the titles as I turned my thoughts over in my head. 

“My aunt…” I started slowly. “I’m not one hundred percent sure what to tell her about you guys.”

“I was thinking about that. I believe the best thing would be to indicate that we were servants your grandfather hired, and for purposes of his Will, we came with the estate.”

I narrowed my eyes. That, honestly, was better than any of the half-baked ideas I’d had. And yet… “I don’t think that’s how Wills work. You can’t leave people to someone in your Will. At least, I don’t think you can…” I leaned a shoulder against the wall, crossing my arms as I considered him. I was eighteen, I had no idea how Wills worked, but ‘here, have these people’ didn’t seem quite right. Maybe if there was some sort of contract involved?

“I honestly have no idea if it’s how that works,” James replied mildly. “I simply think it is the best option. Do you think it’s something your aunt would believe?”

I poked at the inside of my cheek with my tongue. “I don’t know.” I finally said. “Aunt Sylvia is a bit scatterbrained and not always the most observant. But she’s not stupid. It could go either way.”

“We will abide by your decision, of course, regarding using our abilities against those who are guests in this house,” James said. I narrowed my eyes at him, not liking where I thought he was going. “But we could use our powers of suggestion to make her more accepting of the idea.”

“No,” I said firmly and without hesitation. “They’re your powers to do with as you wish, and I’m sure there are ethical ways to use them, but I’m not okay with you using them on people I care about.” Realistically, I wasn’t okay with them being used on people at all. But I wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of moral enlightenment, and I hadn’t spent too much time thinking about it yet. ‘Yet’ being the operative word. 

I also had no tangible reason to trust that they would follow their word. I had to take it on faith. That chafed a bit, but I didn’t really have any other options. 

He nodded. “I understand. We might be able to convince her without them, after all.”

I pushed a chunk of unruly hair behind my ear, still leaning against the wall. “I’m more concerned about the story standing up long-term. My aunt won’t be around a lot a lot, but she’s the one most likely to think about and start poking holes in the story. For the rest of the people attending this shindig… I don’t know how much time you’ve spent actually talking to humans, but I think you’ll find that more often than not we’ll come up with our own explanations for things. None of us want to abandon the rules of normalcy we’ve spent our whole lives learning for a new set that includes ‘demons are real.’”

“None of you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me. 

I shrugged, crossing my arms again. “Well. I don’t know. Maybe not none of us. I like to think I’m pretty open-minded,” I said dryly. “Or at least nuts enough to let you guys stay. The point I was trying to make is I can see the randoms accepting ‘this person’s grandfather left them five servants in his Will’ before they’ll accept ‘these five men are demons from a different plain of existence who are on the run from unknown assailants.’ Or, hell, maybe they’ll come up with their own explanation, if they even think to question it.”

James looked like he was contemplating my words for a moment. “I suppose that’s a mixed blessing,” he said after a moment. He picked up the book he had been looking at again, turning it over in his hands. “When you’re working with one set of preconceived notions, you’ll massage any given situation to fit those notions before you’ll throw them out the window.”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said with a grin before sobering. “If we’re telling my aunt, I had better give my parents a call and tell them the same story. Auntie Syl will tell mom at some point, probably sooner than later, and I’d rather they hear it from me than her.” I was  _ not _ looking forward to that conversation. Mom might call the authorities herself if she thought I was in danger.

“Why don’t you give me their number and I’ll talk to them?” James suggested. “It’s the least I can do.”

I considered him for a moment. It felt a little bit cowardly, letting him be the one to have that talk. But on the other hand, I hated lying to my moms. I usually stuttered. “Maybe. They can be pretty intense sometimes.”

“I have experience talking to ‘intense’ parents,” James replied with amusement in his eyes. 

“Mhmm,” I hummed, arching an eyebrow. I looked down at my folded arms, thinking it over. Honestly, it probably would go over better if James  _ did  _ call them. I sucked at lying to them, and telling them the truth wouldn’t help anyone. It wasn’t like these guys were going to be a permanent fixture in my life. One lie for the week, or however long they ended up staying here, and they’d be gone.

“Alright,” I finally agreed. “You can be the one to call them. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though.”

I pushed off the wall and grabbed the house phone from its cradle on a nearby table, punching the number for home from memory before holding it out to James. 

“Just hit the call button,” I said as he took it. “I. Am gonna be in literally any other room.” 

I spun on my heel and walked out as James hit the call button and pressed the phone to his ear.

I didn’t have anxiety as a rule, but after everything that was going on… I felt justified in practicing a little bit of avoidance. 

Besides, I’d probably get a call from one or both of my moms as soon as they got off the phone with James.

And what did you know? Five minutes later I was in the process of getting my razor and shave cream from my luggage when my phone rang. Muttering to myself about still having the ringer on, I glanced at the caller ID.

‘The Mothership’

I picked up. 

“Hey!” I said, putting as much cheer into my voice as I could muster.

“The lawyer didn’t mention anything about servants,” mother said, skipping straight to the point. 

“There was a lot going on, he could have missed some things?” I suggested. Technically not a lie. He  _ could  _ have missed things.

“Hmmm. You’re okay though? The gentleman, James, said it was him and four others? You’re okay being alone in that house with five strange men?”

I felt a pang of guilt. She sounded so concerned.

“I’m fine, mother. They’re very respectful. I can take care of myself, but I appreciate the concern.”

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Mom asked. Mother must have the house phone on speaker.

I sighed. “Because I didn’t really know what to tell you,” I said honestly. “I was really surprised when I got here and they were in the lobby,  _ then  _ I was tired from traveling,  _ then  _ auntie Syl called to tell me I’d be hosting a party today,  _ and  _ I’ve been kind of running on autopilot since I found out about grandpa.” All true, honestly. It had only been ten or so minutes ago when it occurred to me I should probably tell them  _ something _ about the situation.

There was a brief moment of silence. “I  _ may _ have been hasty in thinking it was a good idea for you to be there on your own,” mom admitted. 

I snorted. “Well, I’m here now, and I’m fine, and I’m making the most of it!” Fine might be overselling it a little. But I  _ was  _ doing pretty good, all things considered.

“Well. Okay. You let us know if you need anything, okay hon?” mother said. 

“Course,” I replied. 

They asked a few more questions about the mansion and how I was doing, then hung up a few minutes later. 

I blew out a sigh. I would put that one in the ‘success’ column. Now I just had to start getting myself ready. My aunt would, supposedly, be here in about a half hour to drop off a dress for me. 

~~~

Auntie Sylvia was late. That wasn’t unusual for her, honestly. She was notoriously bad at being punctual for basically everything in her life. 

I was coming down the stairs to check on the boys, see if anything else needed to get done, when I heard the purr of an engine out front, heralding my aunt’s arrival. 

I caught sight of James and Erik, both in suits, coming out of the dining room. 

“Lemme get the door, then you guys can talk to her,” I said, already halfway to the front door. 

“Shouldn’t the servants be the ones answering the door, princess?” Erik asked. 

He was probably right. I rolled my eyes. “I’m closer, and also,” I stuck out my tongue and blew a raspberry at him. You know. Like an adult. 

The doorbell rang, cutting off whatever Erik’s reply was going to be. 

I opened the big oak door to reveal my aunt, her dramatic party-ready makeup contrasting with her tight jeans and casual blouse .

“Hey auntie. Do you wanna-”

“No time! I have to get ready! I’m in no fit state to entertain  _ anyone _ !”

My aunt shoved a garment bag and two white paper shopping bags into my arms and turned on her four inch heels, practically running back to her still-purring Miata. 

“Oh. Okay. Thank you!” I called after her, proud that I managed to keep most of the sarcasm from my voice. “See you at seven?”

“I’ll be back a bit before then!” she replied, giving me a wave out the window before roaring back out the way she had come. 

“That was abrupt,” James observed from behind me. 

I glanced over my shoulder. “That’s my aunt for you,” I said wryly. “She’ll be back ‘a bit before’ seven. Whatever that’s supposed to mean. Nice suits, by the way. Where did they come from?” I kicked the door shut behind me since both my hands were full. 

James ran a hand over the suit jacket he was wearing. “There were a few extras in the guest rooms, in a few different sizes. Erik managed to find some sewing supplies and tailored them for us.”

I didn’t have a  _ great _ eye for suits, but I’d seen more than a few very expensive ones in my time. The suits themselves were decent, but clearly Eric knew what he was doing, as they fit pretty much perfectly. 

“Sweet. Good job!” I adjusted my grip on my new acquisitions. “I’m gonna go upstairs and get ready. Don’t burn down the house or whatever.”

“Do you need a hand?” Erik asked, already reaching for the garment bag. 

I grinned at him over the pile of black fabric. “You have successfully convinced me that chivalry isn’t dead, Erik,” I said with a laugh. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m good.”

He gave me a smile, retracting his hand. “Alright, princess. Let us know if you end up needing help.”

“Sure, sure,” I said, heading for the stairs.

~~~

I looked at my reflection in the full length mirror as I did up the catch on the necklace that had come from one of the shopping bags my aunt shoved at me.

With the help of many, many bobby pins, I had managed to wrestle my wild orange hair into something resembling an elegant updo, the dangling teardrop diamond earrings that matched the necklace sparkling as they caught the light. My plethora of other ear piercings had silver hoops or studs in them. Slightly less ostentatious perhaps, but it was still nice to have them visible for once, rather than lost in the tangle of my hair. I had stuck with my usual 'fancy Anderson party' makeup; light foundation and contouring, silver-black smokey eye with dramatic false lashes, and dark red lipstick. 

The dress aunt Sylvia had picked for me wasn't something I would have chosen for myself (no pockets), but looking at it in the mirror I had to admit it looked good on me. It was a dark - almost black - green mid-thigh length slinky thing with subtle rhinestones scattered through the fabric for shimmer and straps that sat around my upper arms instead of over my shoulders. It even had built in support for the girls, which was good, because I hadn't even considered bringing a strapless bra when I packed for this trip. 

Across my collarbones, the stones in the necklace glittered extravagantly. Knowing my aunt, they were probably real diamonds, or at least very expensive fakes. It was flashier than the necklaces I usually wore, but I had to admit that it, along with the three inch black pumps, pulled the look together nicely. 

I felt all the self-confidence that had abandoned me earlier return. Who said diamonds and satin dresses didn't count as body armour?

"You clean up nice, Anderson," I told my reflection. 

I snapped a quick picture in the mirror, sending it to my best friend Natalia and my moms before tossing my phone on the bed. Definitely wasn’t going to keep it shoved in my cleavage. Not the right party for that. This is why dresses with pockets were superior in  _ literally  _ every way.

I took a deep breath and made my way to the top of the staircase. 

Showtime. 

"... can't believe how lovely the house looks! I really must congratulate you boys for doing such a good job getting the place prepared!" I leaned on the banister, looking down on the entryway. I wasn't sure how they hadn't heard me; these heels weren't exactly quiet on the hardwood floor, but that seemed like a them problem.

Aunt Sylvia must have arrived while I was getting ready. And at least a whole five minutes before everyone else was due to start pulling up. Impressive. I hoped she hadn’t given the boys any trouble when she arrived. At the very least she wasn’t trying to kick them out, so she must have accepted the story James told her.

The boys in question were standing with their backs to me, waiting to greet the guests who were likely about to start arriving. Auntie Syl was standing in front of them, looking resplendent in all her finery as she rained praise on them. Her greying hair was twisted into a simple knot on top of her head, studded pins twinkling in the lobby lights. If I thought my jewelry was a bit ostentatious, it was put to shame by the conflagration of stones and silver around her neck and on her fingers. Her makeup looked much more appropriate now that she was wearing her party clothes. The blue dress she wore was cut much more modestly across the chest than mine, but had the same shimmery rhinestone look that marked it as coming from the same line. She had a kind face, one that you would expect to see on a Betty Crocker commercial. Which wasn’t too far off, I supposed. She had a whole host of minor acting credits under her belt. 

"Thank you, miss, but Abigail was instrumental in preparing this party as well," James said in his charming voice.

"Oh, don't lie to her, James," I said with amusement as I started to make my way down the stairs. "You boys did all the work, I just had to stand there and look pretty."

"Abigail! You're just in time dear! Oh, the dress fits you perfectly! I'm so glad!" My aunt continued to coo, but I was distracted by the boys' faces. They were all staring at me in surprise.

Maybe I should have been offended that they were so shocked that I cleaned up nice, but the fact that I had managed to stun a group of incubi definitely made me feel a little smug. Their clearly impressed gazes on me also made me blush a bit. 

Erik recovered first, bowing slightly without taking his eyes off me. "You look positively perfect, princess."

"Flatterer," I replied, tilting my chin up a little as I made it down the last few steps.

I glanced at Sam, and saw him looking at me with wide eyes, his adam's apple bobbing a little as he gulped.  _ That  _ was incredibly satisfying.

I gave him a playful wink, almost laughing at how red his face got, but I managed to restrain myself.

He looked good in his suit, I had to admit. It accentuated his broad shoulders, and the green cummerbund he wore accentuated his ridiculous emerald eyes. He didn’t seem all that comfortable in it though, which was a shame. I could get used to him in a suit.

Hmm. I could get used to it, huh? 

My self-reflection was cut off as the sound of an approaching car became audible, and my aunt clapped authoritatively, falling into host mode. 

"Alright, here we are. Places everyone!"

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of pleasantries and condolences over my grandfather's passing. I found all these people - executives, managers, stockholders - sycophantic and distasteful. They were here to gawk at where my grandfather had lived and offer insincere tokens of remorse to feel better about themselves for knowing next to nothing about what he had actually been like when he was alive. 

Still, I smiled over the rim of a glass of sparkling juice and gave the replies that were expected of me. My mother had trained me well, after all.

Aunt Sylvia had introduced me around for the first few minutes, then gotten wrapped up in a conversation with another woman about how stressful remodeling one's house was, leaving me to my own devices.

Soft, inoffensive, elevator-like music filled the lower level of the house, piped through speakers that were cleverly hidden in corners and behind the off-white walls. I made a mental note to hook the system up to my Spotify so I could play my own music through the house. 

"Can I interest you in a canapé?"

I started at Matthew's sudden appearance at my elbow. "Why yes, sir, you can!" I chuckled, taking a cracker topped with goat cheese and chives from his proffered tray. 

“I’m allowed to eat your culinary creations now, am I?”

“Yes you are!” he replied with a grin. “Snack o’clock is now!”

I snorted and popped the cracker into my mouth.

"How are you and the others finding this?" I asked, covering my mouth with a polite hand and gesturing with the other to the milling crowd that filled the entryway, dining room, and living room. 

Matthew laughed a little. "Everyone but Sam is having a good time, I think," he replied. "But that's normal. Sam wouldn't know how to have a good time if it bit him in the… hand."

I covered my mouth with a hand again to hide my smile as he looked around frantically, trying to see if anyone had noticed his near slip-up. 

"Well, good-time-haver or not, he seems to hate me." I said, thinking about earlier that day. I tried to keep my tone light, but I could tell from the way he looked at me Matthew saw some of the hurt I felt in my eyes. My ‘Everyone I Interact With More Than Once Has To Like Me’ personality was going to get me in trouble some day.

"Nah," he said, giving me a smile and shaking his head. "Sam's just stubborn. He doesn't like showing how he feels to anyone, so he comes across as stand-offish. Trust me, he's just as grateful as the rest of us that you're letting us stay here. And he does like you, just so you know."

I arched a disbelieving brow. "If you say so." 

"I do say so! In fact- oh, duty calls!" He broke off mid sentence to take his tray of finger food over to a mustachioed gentleman in a navy suit that was waving him over.

I smiled at his retreating back and returned to socializing for a time, slightly reassured that Sam didn’t hate me. Slightly. Maybe Matthew was just trying to make me feel better. 

A little bit later I was talking to a gentleman (whose name I had already forgotten out of spite) who was vying for the position of CEO left vacant from my grandfather’s passing when Damien appeared at my side. 

“Please, pardon the interruption, but there is something that needs your attention in the kitchen, miss,” he told me. 

I nodded and politely made my exit from the conversation, following Damien through the bustling dining room and into the near-silence of the kitchen. 

I let my shoulders relax, rubbing the back of my neck, feeling the weight of what seemed like dozens of eyes fall off me as the doors closed. “What’s up, Damien?”

“You really didn’t like that man,” he said simply. “I thought I would give you a way out.”

I blinked, surprised but appreciative of the gesture. “Oh. Yes. Well. He’s obnoxious and terrible, so thank you.”

Damien gave me a bright smile. “It was no trouble.”

I sighed and went to the cupboard, grabbing a tumbler and filling it with water from the sink. “How are these people treating you and your brothers?” I asked before downing the water in one go. Sparkling juice could only take a girl so far. None of the boys had seen fit to offer me any of the wine or champagne they were bringing the other guests. I knew I had seen a bottle of whiskey somewhere around here. I might have to break that out after everyone left, incubi opinion on underage drinking be damned. I returned my attention to Damien as he started to answer my question. 

“They’re mostly fine. They treat us either with vague kindness or like we’re pieces of furniture,” he said with a shrug. 

I frowned a little, but considering some of the ways I had seen servants treated before, I was glad they were flying under the radar. “Well. Let me know if that changes. I don’t want anyone treating you guys poorly.” 

Damien nodded. “I had better get back to work. You stay here as long as you want,” he said. 

I shook my head and stuck my glass in the dishwasher. “I’m good. I’ll go rejoin the fray, too. Just maybe away from Mr…” I trailed off, staring into space for a moment, trying to remember his name. 

“His name is-”

I waved my hand, refocussing my gaze on Damien. “Jackass. Mr. Jackass will do just fine.”

Damien laughed, and we both stepped back out into the dining room. 

I made sure to insert myself into a different group of people before Mr. Jackass could catch my attention and start chewing my ear off again about ‘how hard he worked’ and ‘how much he deserved my recently deceased grandfather’s job.’ Ugh. 

James slipped smoothly past me, offering me one of the drinks on his tray. I took it automatically, shooting him a smile. 

“Having a good time?” he asked. 

“As much as can be expected,” I replied wryly. He had moved past me and onto the next group of people before he could respond, but I saw him glance back at me with amusement. I raised my champagne flute of juice to him in a mock salute.

I was about to take the first sip of my drink when I caught sight of a small, white, fuzzy squirrel brandishing a knife nestled amongst the leaves of a potted plant on one of the side tables. 

I frowned, excusing myself from my conversation and heading over.

Definitely the doll Matthew had made for me the other night. It almost looked like the thing was laying in wait for someone. That was ridiculous though. Still, I took a quick glance around. Matthew was the only one even remotely nearby, serving more finger food to the guests. 

Frowning, I fished the thing from the plant, gently knocking the dirt from its soft fur. “Hey, Matthew, can I grab you for a sec?” I called him over. 

He nodded, stepping away from the party goers with a smile. 

“Yeah, Abigail?”

“Did you hide this in the plant…?” I held my hand out, showing him the doll. 

Matthew paled immediately. “No,” he said in a voice that barely managed to remain shy of a shriek. 

“Matthew, be cool for like  _ a _ second,” I said, giving the nearby woman shooting us a concerned look a reassuring smile. “It’s just a toy. One of your brothers must have hidden it to freak you out.” A bit annoying. How would I have explained the thing if an upper-crust executive type had been the one to find it? ‘I just think he’s neat’ probably wouldn’t get me very far.

“I guess…” he acquiesced, lowering his voice. He absolutely did not look convinced in the slightest. 

“Look, can you keep it for the rest of the party?”

“Why me?” he asked incredulously. 

I raised an eyebrow. “Does it look like this dress has pockets?”

He gave the dress in question a quick glance. “I guess not…”

He gave me one last pleading look before gingerly taking the squirrel and carefully tucking it in the pocket of his suit pants. 

“You can run him upstairs, if you want,” I said, taking pity on his pathetic expression. “I just don’t want to have to explain a squirrel with a knife to these people.”

With a look of relief, Matthew nodded, tucking his empty tray beneath his arm and making his way towards the stairs. 

I shook my head a bit, taking a sip of my juice. If that thing kept showing up we’d have to come up with a name for it. 

I was pulled from my thoughts by an older woman approaching me with a question about the future of Anderson Toys. Putting on my best polite smile, I forced myself to engage in the conversation.

It was about twenty minutes later when my glass was empty and I started looking around for a place to put it. My eye was caught by Sam, standing off to the side looking bored, a tray with a couple of empty glasses held at chest height in front of him. 

He saw me looking, and after a brief moment of eye contact, he lifted his free hand and drew his thumb across his throat, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he tilted his head to the side. I almost couldn’t help the snort of laughter that almost left my lips. ‘Me too,’ I mouthed at him, and he grinned, head returning to its normal position as someone set their empty glass on his tray without even looking at him.

I glanced at my conversation partners to make sure they hadn’t noticed my lack of attention, made my excuses, and headed over to him.

“You’re having as good of a time as I am, I see,” I said, setting my glass on his tray. 

He grimaced. “What gave it away?”

I laughed. “Well, it’s starting to get late. These people probably won’t stay very much longer,” I said, reassuring myself as much as him. “If you guys end up staying for a while, I’ll throw a proper party for the six of us,” I said, suddenly grinning at him. 

He returned the grin. “What makes a ‘proper party’?” 

“Well for one, drinks that are stronger than sparkling juice.” I smirked. “And music that has literally any bass to it. Like. Literally any bass. A beat, even. Lyrics.”

We grinned at each other for a moment before I felt the smile fade from my face. “Uhm. Listen. I wanted to apologize for pushing, earlier. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

Sam’s smile turned into a grimace. “Nah, it was a fair question,” he said after a moment. “I don’t- look. I said I wasn’t good at apologies? I’m also not good about talking about myself. Besides, my life is pretty boring.”

“I find that hard to believe,” I said. 

He shook his head, but changed the subject. 

“You look good.” 

I blinked at him for a moment. That absolutely wasn’t what I was expecting.

“Thank you?” The question in my voice came more from being caught off guard than from him having said something wrong. 

“Er- I mean- you always look good, but in that dress you look really h-” he cut himself off, face bright red, and looked away, staring at the door.

I pulled myself together, putting my rehearsed polite smile back on my face, slipping back into hostess mode. I honestly didn’t know what else to do. He was just being nice. Right? Obviously. It didn’t mean anything. 

“It’s all good, Sam. Thank you. My aunt might be flighty, but she has good taste in clothes.”

I was about to say something else when I caught sight of the aunt in question beckoning me over to where she was talking with a gentleman who looked about my age. I was grateful for the reason to slip away, honestly. I usually didn’t get so tongue tied. Clearly I had no clue how to react to a compliment when it came from Sam. 

I shot him another smile, giving his arm a quick squeeze. “Almost done, I promise.”

I turned and slid through the people gathered in the lobby until I reached my aunt, giving her a smile. 

I forced myself to put Sam out of my mind. At least for now. I definitely couldn’t play the role I was supposed to when I was trying to think if the last word he’d been about to say was ‘hot.’

“Abigail, I’d like to introduce you to someone. This is Andrew Lewis. I believe you were talking to his father a while ago?” 

I glanced from my aunt to the man she was introducing me to. The colour of his hair and the shape of his nose were indeed familiar. Mr. Jackass Jr. I immediately internally kicked myself. There was no need to make judgments of people based on their parents. He looked like he was nice enough, at the very least. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss Anderson,” he said courteously, extending his hand to me in an oddly formal gesture. 

I suppressed the urge to raise my eyebrows and gave him my hand. “And you as well,  _ mister  _ Lewis.” I couldn’t keep a slight wry edge from my tone as he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. At that, my eyebrows did raise.

My aunt was looking back and forth between us with a knowing smile, which I immediately distrusted. Andrew… Andrew… had she ever mentioned an Andrew to me before? 

“I appreciate being invited tonight,” Andrew continued, releasing my hand and giving me a smile. I returned the smile and inclined my head politely. 

“Only the best for my aunt’s party,” I replied, giving the aunt in question a smile and a raised eyebrow. She was up to something. 

She smiled back, then glanced over my shoulder. 

“Oh! I just caught sight of Mr. Whitmore, I simply must catch up with him. Excuse me dears!” She was gone in a whirl of perfume and blinding diamonds before I could say anything. 

I blinked in surprise, returning my attention to Andrew once I’d recovered. “I would apologize on her behalf, but I know for a fact that she is absolutely not sorry at all, and will do something like this again,” I told him. 

He laughed. “Don’t worry about it. This isn’t the first time I’ve met your aunt. She was saying she sprung this party on you last minute? You did well to pull all this together on such short notice.”

“I didn’t realize she was advertising her lack of warning,” I laughed. “I appreciate the compliment, but honestly I did very little. Nothing, one might even argue. The boys are responsible for all of this.” I gestured at the sparkling lobby. 

“You’re selling yourself short, princess,” Erik said, moving past Andrew and I with a stack of empty appetizer plates on his tray. “Your moral support and guiding touches were invaluable.”

I smirked at him. “You’re cute, Erik, but you’re not a great liar.” 

He put his free hand over his chest and made a dramatically shocked expression, then he was gone, taking the dishes to the kitchen.

My eyes landed on Sam as I briefly tracked Erik’s red hair through the crowd. He had been watching me, I thought, but looked away as my eyes landed on him, glaring at the nearby wall. I frowned. That was… strange. Had he been watching Andrew and I? I internally shrugged and returned to my conversation with Andrew.

He was nice enough, and had a decent sense of humor. Of everyone I had been forced to talk to that night, he was probably the most pleasant. I found myself enjoying the rest of the night laughing and talking with him. 

Occasionally, I caught Sam watching us. If I didn't know better, I'd say something like jealousy was in his eyes. 

Luckily, I did know better. Nonetheless, it was confusing.

Soon enough, however, everyone started heading out. Andrew kissed my hand again as he said goodbye, making me laugh with a parting joke.

“I’m so glad you and Andrew had a good time, dear!” aunt Sylvia said cheerily as I shut the door behind him. It was just her, me, and the boys left amid the detritus of what I thought was a very successful party. 

I rounded on her and put my hands on my hips. “And just what game are you playing?” I asked.

I had been mulling it over as I talked to Andrew, and I had a couple ideas, but nothing that made much sense. 

The boys had been starting to clean up, but their heads snapped up to look at me when they heard the tone of my voice. My aunt, however, gave me a saccharine smile that I didn’t buy for a second.

“I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about, dear.”

I glared at her narrowly. 

It only took about six seconds for her to cave, throwing her hands in the air. “I wanted him to ask you on a date!”

I froze. That had been one of my first thoughts, but I had dismissed it out of hand. My family knew I wasn’t interested in dating right now, they’d all been respectful of that.

“Maybe we should-” Damien began to suggest.

“Stay  _ right _ there!” I snapped. They were all looking at us, varying degrees of shock on their faces. 

Sylvia glanced at the boys, as if only then realizing they were still there. “We shouldn’t have this conversation in front of the help.”

She didn’t say it with any malice, but I was immediately  _ much  _ angrier than I had been. “They’re not ‘ _ the help, _ ’ they’re people, and I want them here to witness whatever  _ crap  _ you're about to tell me to try and excuse trying to set me up with a complete stranger!” I could practically feel my blood boiling. Sure, my extended family had occasionally brought up the fact that I never dated, but I hadn’t asked my aunt, or anyone else, to try and set me up with someone. Especially since I hardly spoke to aunt Sylvia. There was no way she had any clue what I’d look for in a potential partner.

“Andrew is not a  _ complete _ stranger!” she said, throwing her hands in the air again. “I’ve spoken with him plenty of times before. He’s a sweet boy, it looked like you two were having a good time!”

“We were, but that is totally beside the point! You can’t just- Ugh! Why are you trying to play matchmaker for me?”

She pouted a bit. “I just want you to find someone nice, and I thought he would be a good fit for you!”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down a bit. “Auntie, I love you a lot, but I’m more than capable of finding someone to date for myself.”

“But you haven’t.”

“No, I haven’t!” I snapped back. “Perhaps because I don’t  _ want _ to date? I'm trying to focus on getting my career started.  _ You _ never married,” I pointed out. 

She sighed, pouting and looking down at her shimmery heels. I knew it was a play for sympathy and just arched an eyebrow. “Can we talk about this later? I’ve got contractors coming in the morning to look at the wiring.”

“I just- can you- yeah alright fine.” I crossed my arms and gave an aggravated huff. 

She gave me a hug, and I reluctantly returned it. I was definitely upset with her, but I wasn't so offended that I could justify being rude. It helped a little bit that it didn’t seem like she was being pushy out of malice. Only a little bit though. 

“Goodnight, dear,” she said. “Thank you so much for being such a good sport about hosting the party.”

“Yeah, no problem,” I replied, giving her a tight smile as she left. 

I closed the door as she was getting in her Miata and turned back to the boys, trying to rearrange my face from irritated to apologetic. “Sorry about that,” I said thinly. 

“Don’t worry about it in the slightest. I’m sorry your aunt put you in that position,” James replied, sympathy in his voice. 

I sighed. “She means well, but she’s a bit… controlling is too strong. She likes to be the driving force behind as many things as she can so she can say it was her idea if it works out. Besides, Andrew was nice, but he’s not my type.”

“Oh? And what  _ is  _ our princess’s type?” Erik asked, the question sounding more like a purr.

“Erik, stop it.” James snapped, but I just laughed. 

“You can go to bed, if you’d like. You had a long night, and we can handle cleaning up,” Matthew offered. 

I waved a dismissive hand. “Not a chance. Gimme a sec to get out of this dress and I’ll be back down to help out.”

However, before I even took a step towards the stairs, the doorbell rang. 

“What did you forget this time, Aunt Syl?” I asked loudly as I opened the door again.

I barely had time to register Damien calling some sort of warning before I was face to face with a rough looking, cherry-red skinned man with white hair. 

“Oh-ho-ho, lookit what we got here. You little shits got yourself a decent looking piece of ass, didn’t ya?”

Completely taken off guard, all I could do was stupidly blink at him in surprise. His voice. It was the one from my dream. By the time I registered what he had said, and shock was replaced by anger, James was pulling me back from the door.

“We won’t let him hurt you,” he assured me, pulling me back a few more steps. They wouldn’t let  _ him _ hurt  _ me _ ? I was gonna tear his throat out!

“Are you sure? Are you _ really _ sure?” the man asked, smirking widely. 

The incubi were glaring at the man, teeth gritted, hands trembling with anger. I related. This buckwild, wack-looking man had called me a piece of ass!

“What’s the matter boys, you didn’t really think I wouldn’t find you?” the man taunted. A woman with the same colour skin and brown hair stepped up beside the man, looking at each of us in turn with more mild interest than malice. 

Sam took a few steps forward, practically snarling. "I hope you would you piece of-”

I couldn’t help the small scream that escaped me as the man lifted his arm, revealing the gun he held, pointed it at Sam’s face, and fired. James’ hand on my shoulder tightened, and I heard gasps from him and the other boys.

I didn’t take my eyes off of Sam. 

He… was just standing there. I couldn’t see his face, but even through the lines of his suit, I could see he was tense. But he didn’t fall. No blood started dripping to the floor, and the back of his head remained completely intact. 

“Wh- what the fuck?!” the stranger growled, looking disbelievingly at the gun in his hand. He kept squeezing the trigger, but after the loud boom of the first failed shot, it just made clicking noises as he got more and more angry. “Why the fuck won’t you work?!”

“This place is protected,” Damien replied, a smug smile on his face. 

Protected? Against  _ bullets _ ? What was he talking about? Sam almost got shot in the face.  _ Sam almost got shot in the face! _

“What did you say to me, shrimp?”

“This place has a seal, protecting it from hell-borne magic.”

I kept my eyes on Sam. He still hadn’t moved. He was probably in shock. I tugged a little against James’ hand, wanting to go to him and pull him back, but the older incubus didn’t let me go. That was probably for the best. The anger had left me in a rush, replaced with fear, and my knees were still a bit shaky.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!” Not waiting for an answer, the man gave a frustrated cry and threw the gun at Sam. Snapping out of it, Sam easily dodged the gun, and it clattered between Matthew’s feet and came to rest somewhere behind us. 

Sam seemed shaken, taking a few steps back to be a little closer to his brothers. 

I didn't stop looking at him as he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes meeting mine. He tried to give me a reassuring smile, but my heart was still racing with adrenaline and fear. 

“The previous owner had this place protected by magic, Malix,” Matthew responded.  _ That  _ was enough to pull my attention from Sam. Magic? The previous owner was my grandfather, he’d had his house protected by  _ magic _ ? I wanted to demand answers right there and then, my head swimming with confusion, but I knew that this really wasn’t the time for explanations. This man, Malix, must be the one who had injured the boys so badly. Him, the woman, and a few of their friends, if I was remembering James’ comment about ‘a band of misfits’ correctly. 

“What’s stopping me from dragging your asses out here and shooting you then?!” Malix asked, fists clenched in growing anger. 

That was enough. I knocked James’ hand off my shoulder and stepped forward, putting myself in front of Sam and the others, only a foot and a half away from Malix. It was easier to be bold when I knew there was very little he could do to me. “Get the fuck out of my house and leave them the fuck alone,” I said, incredibly proud of how level my voice sounded. 

“And who the fuck are you?” he responded, leaning closer to me with a smirk. 

I didn’t give any ground. “That’s none of your goddamn business,” I replied, glaring up at him. 

“You’ve got a big mouth, bitch. You best be careful who you speak to.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw one of his hands moving, and instinct took over. I blocked the punch he threw at me, and from inside his guard I decked him with my other hand. I had instinctively aimed for his windpipe, but I wasn’t used to fighting in heels, and my centre of gravity was off just enough that I connected with his cheek and jaw instead. He stumbled back, pain and shock at being struck clear on his face, then he turned his glare on me and started to leap at me with a snarl. 

Suddenly, I was being pulled back, hands around my upper arms pressing me firmly against someone’s chest. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that it was Sam that had me, tugging me away from the angry man. The woman that was with Malix had him in a similar hold. He snarled and tugged against her as he tried to get to me. 

“The fucking bitch punched me! My fucking ears are ringing!”

I just let Sam pull me back. I had just punched some sort of… supernatural gang leader? What was wrong with me?! 

Sam let me go when he realized I wasn’t struggling and stepped in front of me, glancing at me over his shoulder. He looked, concerned, but also a little impressed. I took a deep breath and gave him a small smile, standing straight and running my hands over the front of my dress to try and calm myself down a little. 

“Enough, Malix,” the woman said, finally speaking up as she let Malix go. He glared at me for a moment before turning to her.

“Since when did you get the guts to speak out of place?”

She laughed. “We both know you don't control me. I want them dead just like you do, but now is not the time!” 

“Fuck off. I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you? Because you almost let a human lay you out.”

“Shut the fuck up!”

“Let’s go Malix, we’re wasting our time!”

They snarled at each other for a moment before Malix turned back to us.

“This isn’t over pretty boys. We’ll fuck you up real good.” He turned his attention to me specifically, his lip curling in rage as he glared at me over Sam's shoulder. “And just you wait, bitch. You’re gonna pay for what you did. Step outside, I dare you.”

He dissolved into cackling for a moment before the pair turned and walked off, the doors swinging shut of their own accord behind them. 

Suddenly, the adrenaline left me all in a rush, and I found myself pitching forward as the shock caught up with me. 

“Whoa, are you alright?!” Sam asked. He had turned and caught me, I noticed vaguely. Leaning on him, I gave myself a bit of a shake, trying to clear my head a little. 

“Yeah. I’m… I’m fine. What the hell was that?”

“A devil. Malix. Our blood trail must have led him here.”

They explained the difference between demons and devils, and I struggled to keep up. Slowly, the shock started to fade, and I stood up a bit, giving Sam a grateful smile as I gave him a bit of space. To my surprise, he stepped with me. He wasn’t touching me now that I had pulled away, but I could see in his eyes that he was still worried. He occasionally glared at the door like he expected the devils to come back. 

“So. What do we do?” I asked, shivering a little as I remembered the threat he directed at me.

“Don’t worry, you’re protected, too,” Damien said. 

“... Huh?”

"What Damien’s saying is that the magic that protects this place also protects you,” Matthew supplied. 

“Your grandfather must have cast it when he last spoke to you, or something of that nature. We can sense its aura around your body.” 

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose as James spoke, trying to wrap my head around everything that had just happened. “Yeah, my grandfather the wizard. Apparently that’s a thing, too.” I let out a strangled laugh. It felt like everything was catching up to me all at once. My grandfather dying. Bleeding demons in the lobby of the mansion he had left me. Then, evidently, he had been dabbling in  _ magic _ too. “You know what? I’m gonna take a pass on finding out how my grandfather knew magic until tomorrow.” I opened my eyes again, glaring at each of the boys in turn. “And I  _ am _ going to want to know why, if you could see this…” I gestured to myself, “aura this whole time none of you thought to mention it.”

“We thought you knew,” Matthew said, looking a bit like a kicked puppy. I flinched, sorry to have taken such an accusatory tone. Well. I guess I could understand that. What kind of moron would have a magical shield around them and not know about it? Me, obviously.

I reached up and started pulling pins from my hair. “Sorry, guys. I just… this has been a lot to take in. Give me a sec to change, I’ll help clean up, then we can go to bed and talk more in the morning.”

“No,” James said firmly. “You’ve had to deal with a lot in the past few days. You should go to bed. We’ll take care of everything.”

The other boys nodded, even Sam seemed to agree. Part of me hated the idea of leaving them to do all the work, but I could feel exhaustion dragging at my limbs, and, sadly, knew he was probably right. 

“Alright,” I agreed reluctantly. “I’ll make breakfast or something tomorrow, then.”

They just nodded.

I kicked off my heels, picked them up, and made my way upstairs barefoot. The other boys had begun cleaning, but I felt Sam's eyes on me until I safely made it to the top of the stairs.

I had been planning on having a shower, but once I had my dress and makeup off, I found that the siren’s song of bed was too strong to resist. I hadn’t even finished taking the pins out of my hair.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so if anyone wanted to check out my tumblr under the hashtag #abigail anderson or #i wouldnt mind series they'd see some art and aesthetic boards i did up for this fic. just like. as fun flirty little secret extras. @imaginethedragon 
> 
> ANYWAY badda bing badda boom they be kissin' now. love that for them

I woke up early the next morning. Too early for a Sunday, the one day I usually got to sleep in. 

But I could tell I wasn’t going back to sleep. Now that I was awake, the image of Malix pointing a gun at Sam kept playing in my head on repeat.

I took the remaining bobby pins out of my hair, scraping my fingers across my scalp to try and relieve some of the ache from leaving them in overnight. I’d have to shower to get rid of the hairspray-and-gel residue that had it sticking in a myriad of directions, but that could wait. 

I checked my phone, seeing a few texts I had missed from Natalia and my moms. 

_ Damn girl. Getting dressed up for   
_ _ someone I should know about? _

Grinning, I replied,

_ Listen. If I had someone to dress up  
_ _ for and didn’t immediately tell you  
_ _ would you ever forgive me? _

The time difference from Chicago to Vancouver meant that it was, what, three in the morning for her? It would be a few hours before I got a response. I switched to the group chat I had with my moms.

_ Bio-Mother: Wow sweetheart! You look fantastic!  _

_ Analysis-Mom: My sister knows how to pick a dress,   
_ _ I’ll give her that much. _

_ Bio-Mother: Don’t forget to have fun tonight <3  
_ _ Let us know how it goes! _

_ It went pretty well. You know how exec  
_ _ types stress me out. Auntie Syl was a   
_ _ bit weird. Mom, did you know she’s  
_ _ taken it upon herself to play matchmaker  
_ _ for me? _

I got up and stretched before grabbing a loose shirt to wear over my sleeping shorts. It was a shirt my biological father had gotten for me, heather grey with the Jurassic Park logo on it and torn artistically to make it look like the raptors had almost gotten me. Tucking my phone into the strap of my sports bra, I headed out into the house. 

Unsurprisingly, I didn’t hear anything from the direction of the guest rooms. The boys would probably be asleep for a while yet. Even James-the-morning-person would probably sleep in after last night. That gave me some time to explore the place without any distractions.

On the second floor, a bit closer to where the boys were sleeping, I found the room that contained the stereo and receiver for controlling the music. I grabbed the brand name of the sound system and checked my phone. Excellent, they had an app. 

I took a few minutes to get everything set up, then smiled in satisfaction when it loaded up the speaker layout. It showed a rough map of the mansion, along with which rooms had speakers and controls for adjusting volume and which speakers were playing music at any given time. That would be a lot of fun to play with when everyone was awake. Or a fun way to get them out of bed, depending on how mean I felt like being. 

Moving on, I checked the next door and was surprised to find some sort of study. I thought my grandfather did all of his work from the Anderson building, but this room looked well-used. Big bay windows along one wall meant the early morning light lit the place quite well even before I hit the light switch. Opposite the windows, the wall was lined with built-in oak bookcases, filled with all manner of books; mostly textbooks and technical novels by the look of them, but there were a few paperbacks among them. Physics, math, spirituality, and James Patterson. It was an eclectic assortment, and not at all what I expected from grandfather. Well. The James Patterson was par for the course. 

“What were you up to, grandpa?” I murmured to myself.

I kept exploring, running my fingers along the spines of the books as I made my way towards the desk at the other side of the room. I smiled at photos of me, Chris, my moms, and other members of the Anderson family tree tucked in on the shelves.

I sat in the big chair behind the desk, running my hands over the worn leather of the armrests. How many times had my grandfather sat her, reading one of those books, or working on something for the company? 

Not one hundred percent sure why I was snooping (was it snooping if it was now my house? Maybe not. It felt like snooping though), I reached for one of the drawers of the desk, opening it to reveal a laptop. It seemed out of place, the shiny metal contrasting harshly against the old fashioned green velvet-lined interior of the drawer. Hesitating for only a moment, I pulled it out.

There was no brand emblazoned on the top, but it looked expensive. I carefully set it on the desk and opened it. It blinked to life, the lock screen loading after a brief moment. I’d have to take a look for a password book somewhere- retina scan? That was weird. And also a problem.

Assuming it was keyed to grandfather’s eye, it was gonna be a bitch to get into it. Chris knew more about computers than I did, but this was probably above his pay grade too. 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. On a whim, I leaned forward, looking straight at the camera. Much to my surprise, the laptop chimed as it unlocked. 

“Okay grandpa. I love you, but this is incredibly weird,” I muttered, taking a look at the simple desktop. The mystery of how he got a scan of my eye would probably never be solved. That was gonna bother me, but at least I was into the laptop. 

I smiled a bit at seeing the Skype icon in the top corner, remembering a few months ago when I had last talked to him. Most of the rest of the icons were folders for the Anderson company, various clerical things like budget reports that didn’t interest me in the slightest. 

There was one icon, however, that I didn’t recognize. It was a strange red and black symbol, looking almost like a jagged wheel with the word ‘Vorago’ written beneath it. I frowned. It wasn’t a program I recognized, but it also didn’t look like an accounting program, or anything else grandpa would have used for work. What had he downloaded onto this thing? 

I pulled out my phone and punched ‘Vorago’ into the browser. It loaded up something to do with RuneScape? Some sort of mountain-like creature. I doubted my grandpa was into RuneScape. I added ‘definition’ to the search and opened up the Merriam-Webster website. 

**Definition of** **_vorago_ ** **_  
_ ** : an engulfing chasm : ABYSS   
**History and Etymology for** **_vorago_ ** **_  
_ ** Latin, from  _ vorare _ , too devour

Hmm. Not great. 

Well. I certainly wouldn’t be able to think about anything else all day if I didn’t take a look. If it was some sort of virus, it was already on the laptop. Clicking on it wouldn’t do any further harm. Probably. 

My curiosity was gonna get me in real trouble some day.

“Fuck it,” I muttered, double clicking the icon. Add it to the Bad Decision Mountain that was threatening to bury me.

I jumped a little as a drawer beneath one of the windows unlocked with a click. Huh. I knew grandpa Anderson wasn’t exactly computer illiterate, but  _ I _ had no idea how to key a locked drawer to a computer program through a nondescript icon on a desktop. At least I hadn’t triggered Armageddon or something.

I left the laptop open and went to check the drawer. 

There were two books in there, one plain black and one covered with strange symbols. The plain one looked like it had been disturbed more recently, so I grabbed that one first, hopping up on the dresser to sit next to the still-open drawer.

It was a journal, documenting grandpa’s adventures through the realm of demon magic. “So, grandpa, you really  _ did  _ know about magic…”

I don’t know why the confirmation solidified that fact in my mind. I’d seen the shock on Malix’s face when his gun didn’t do anything to Sam. It said a lot about my last few days that the fact that my grandfather practiced magic wasn’t higher on my ‘what the shit’ list.

I kept reading, becoming more and more aware of a current running through my veins, through the house, through the very foundations of the earth. If I focussed, I could almost see it, strands of energy connecting everything, running around and through all that I could see, extending my awareness to the grass outside, the birds in the trees, the cars on the road. I could use the power that flowed through me to do… nearly anything. I could almost reach out and-

Suddenly, I was putting the book back where it had come from and shutting the drawer. I frowned. I hadn’t decided to do that. Not consciously at least. I reached for the drawer again as that strange awareness I had developed started to fade, but I was hit by the sudden sensation that that would be a bad idea. It was almost like the instincts I had been suppressing since Friday were roiling in my gut, tired of being ignored.

I could still feel that current of energy running beneath my skin. It has definitely faded, but it was still there. I looked down at my hands, spreading my fingers and focussing on the strange sensation. I was somehow unsurprised when ice blue sparks started dancing around my hands, skipping across the surface of my palms like small, eager fireflies. 

I clenched my hands, the sparks vanishing and leaving my hands feeling a bit tingly. 

What. The hell. Okay.  _ Okay _ . I knew magic was a thing. The boys had told me about it last night, and even before that the thought  _ had _ occurred to me. I just hadn’t expected it to be something I could  _ do. _

There was definitely a difference between ‘hey this exists’ and ‘yer a wizard, Abigail.’

I looked around, but nothing seemed to have changed in the room. Early morning light still slanted through the big windows, old photos still smiled at me from the shelves. But nonetheless, I felt like it would be a bad idea to keep reading the book the way I had. 

I frowned at the oaken drawer. 

“Bad vibes? Alright, grandpa. I won’t, for now.” I looked around the room again. “But I’m not just gonna walk away from this.”

My grandfather had magic. I must have inherited it from him. I supposed that would explain the prophetic dreams. Maybe. I had no clue how magic worked.

“Adult life is already so goddamn weird, this might as well happen,” I quoted to myself, rubbing my face. This was  _ definitely _ a problem for future Abigail. Fuck that bitch. What has she done for me lately? She’d get to learn how to do shit with magic though. So go her for that.

Before I closed the laptop and tucked it back in its drawer, I saw the time. I had woken up at 5, and hand over my heart I would have sworn I hadn’t been up and about for more than half an hour or so. However, the little clock in the corner of the laptop told me it was almost eight. Had I sat there reading that journal for close to three hours?

I put the laptop away and left the room, closing the door quietly behind me. ‘Weird’ didn’t even begin to cover what just happened. ‘Weird’ didn’t even begin to cover what my life had become, to be honest. I rubbed my hands on my thighs, suddenly aware of how sweaty my palms were. 

Breakfast. I said I would make breakfast for everyone.

I managed to shake off the weird feeling by the time I made it to the kitchen. I took a moment to inventory the contents of the fridge, the pantry, and the spice rack before starting a pot of coffee brewing. Caffeine was the first and most important step of any meal prep. 

I wasn’t a chef by any stretch, but I enjoyed cooking, and the place was pretty well-stocked. I gathered the things I would need to make breakfast skillets for everyone, and set one of my playlists to play through the speakers in the kitchen while I worked.

I danced around the kitchen, singing along with my music as I cooked and drank a mug of coffee. I hadn’t cranked it as loud as I wanted to; it would have been rude to the sleeping demons. It  _ was _ only quarter past eight, and they had stayed up later than me to clean up from the party. 

I also had something of an… eclectic taste in music.

I reached absently for the onions I’d chopped, starting when my fingers connected with soft fur instead of the bowl. Looking down, I saw the demonic squirrel. I would have sworn it hadn’t been there a moment ago, but the alternative was that it had...

Nah, there was no way it had just appeared there. 

Remembering the brief thought I had the night before, I booped the thing's nose. “I think I’m gonna call you Simon,” I told him. “Maybe I can convince Matthew to make two more, name them Alvin and Theodore.”

If I hadn’t known better I would have sworn he seemed pleased by the name.

I set him on top of the coffeemaker where he’d have a good view but not get grease splattered in his fur, and kept cooking, occasionally asking him his opinion on one thing or another. It was kinda nice to be able to talk to someone who wouldn’t snark back or drop an earth shattering revelation on me, honestly.

The skillets were almost done, and I was in front of the stove top swaying my hips, singing along dramatically to Vesperteen’s FeelGood when the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. 

I froze, whipping around to face the door to see Sam leaning against the door frame, watching me with a small smile. 

“Can I help you?” I asked, my voice squeaking a bit as I felt my face heat. 

He flushed too, looking away from me, rubbing the back of his neck. “I- I uh-” He cleared his throat. “I was just coming to see what was up with the music.”

I was suddenly incredibly aware of the hairspray-tangled rats nest that was my hair, and the fact that this shirt was so big and my shorts were so short that it looked like I had no pants on. 

“Oh. Sorry for waking you up?” I offered awkwardly. I reached over to my phone on the counter and paused the music. 

“No, no. Didn’t wake me up,” he reassured, glancing back at me for a moment. I might have been mistaken, but I could have sworn he gave me a once over. 

“That’s good,” I said, returning my attention to the eggs that were almost done. “I uhm. I made skillets for breakfast?” I tried, not taking my eyes from the pan as I willed my blush to go away. 

“Smells good. What’s a skillet?”

I heard him coming into the kitchen, and focussed even harder on the eggs. “Breakfast skillets are a mix of sauteed veggies, potatoes, and protein.” I recited. “I made a few different kinds of meat since I didn’t know what you guys like.” I gestured to the other pans on the six burner stove top. “It’s not gonna be the same as the stuff we get on the farm, but there were a few good options. You can mix whatever you like up in a bowl. It’s better if you cook it all in the same pan, but I didn’t know what you guys liked or if you had any food allergies or something. I like chorizo and eggs, but the nice thing is there’s no wrong way to make a skillet so…” I shrugged, finally turning to look at him.

He was a lot closer than I thought he was. Like. Really close. Within six inches or so. I had to tilt my head back to see his face. He was looking at the stove, seeing what the options were. 

I was sudden;y struck by how attractive he was. Of course he was hot. He was a sex demon. It was probably a legal requirement. Still. He had a strong jawline, good cheekbones, and broad shoulders. And that was without even mentioning his crazy green eyes.

He could be so… confrontational. There was something beneath that brash, crude confidence though. I had seen it in the way I caught him looking at me sometimes, how at peace he seemed while doing taichi, the shape of his mouth when he smiled. Even now when, when he was just being… not a douche, I felt a bit drawn to him.

I caught sight of a pair of dog tags hanging around his neck. They must have been tucked into his shirt before. I’d have to ask about those. Did demons have dog tags as a rule, or were they more of a fashion statement? Did demons need dog tags? That was a strange thought, demon warfare.

He looked down at me and suddenly realized how close we were standing. He looked like he was about to say something when the toaster dinged, interrupting him. He took a quick two steps back, colliding with the large island behind him, making him grunt. “Sorry, didn’t mean to crowd you,” he said, face heating again. 

I shrugged, turning back to the stove so he couldn’t see my own renewed blush. “‘S’all good. I didn’t mind.” I could have smacked myself. “Wanna butter the toast?” I quickly asked in a voice several octaves higher than it usually was.

He didn’t say anything, but I heard him move to the toaster and pull out the slices of sourdough.

I glanced over at the coffeemaker, but Simon was gone. Had he fallen off somehow? I could have sworn he was perfectly stable up there. I saw no sign of him on either side of the machine, though. Huh. I made a mental note to ask Matthew about it. Maybe his paranoia about Simon being sentient wasn’t as misplaced as I’d assumed it had been.

I returned my attention to the stove top, turning the burners off. 

“Anyway, if you wanna tell your brothers how to do the thing, I really need to take a shower so I’m gonna-”

“You’re not eating?” 

I glanced back at him, blinking in surprise. “I’ll grab something in a bit. I’m not super hungry right now.” It was true. Finding hard proof that my grandfather dabbled in magic, and that I seemed to have some sort of abilities too had put paid to my appetite.

He frowned at me and grabbed a fork and one of the bowls I had set on the counter, holding it out to me. 

I looked from it to him for a moment before rolling my eyes. “Alright, pushy.” I grabbed the bowl and dished myself up, mixing everything together. He passed me a piece of toast and I grabbed it, setting it on top of my food. We stood there looking at each other for a moment. Being at a loss for words was a new feeling for me. 

“Hope you like it,” I said, suddenly shy. I turned and left the kitchen, making a beeline for my room.

I almost ran face first into James on my way up the stairs. 

“Whoa,” he said, steadying me as I teetered on the steps for a moment. “Are you okay?” 

I nodded. “Sam is in the kitchen, he’ll show you how skillets work.” I knew my face was still a bit red, and I hoped he wouldn’t notice. 

I needn’t have worried. As soon as I mentioned that Sam was in the kitchen, James’ head snapped up, looking in that direction. “Sam? Up before me  _ and  _ in the kitchen? This I must see.” 

I watched him as he half-jogged down the rest of the stairs then shook my head and resumed my trek to the master bedroom. 

~~~

After a shower, I felt a lot more like a person. I took my time drying and defusing my hair, and even put on some basic makeup. I tried to tell myself it was because I wanted more time to collect myself and not that I wanted to look nice for… someone. 

I didn't believe myself.

No time to examine that though. None at all. Nope.

I grabbed a dark long sleeved button up with small rainbows scattered across it, and did it halfway up over a white tank top, tucking it into my cuffed jeans. 

“We looking bisexual as hell,” I told my reflection. She didn’t seem super impressed with me. 

“You’re right, not bisexual enough.” I rolled the sleeves up. “There we go.”

I headed downstairs and into the kitchen, pouring myself a cup of coffee and putting it in the microwave to reheat. I loaded my breakfast dishes into the dishwasher, noting that someone had cleaned up my cooking mess. Where were the boys? 

I grabbed my reheated coffee and added a splash of cream before heading towards the back of the house. Since I hadn’t run into any of them elsewhere in the house, they were most likely somewhere all together, probably training. There were a few empty rooms towards the back of the first floor, but more likely they were outside in the backyard. It was pretty sunny, after all. A good day to be outside. 

I was gratified to see that I was right, four of them absolutely whaling on Sam. None of them seemed to notice me, which made sense. It had been a while since I had any formal krav maga lessons, but I remembered how everything except the sparring faded once you got in a groove.

I leaned my shoulder on the door frame, holding my mug in both hands as I sipped and watched. Sam was holding his own pretty well, but I could tell he was tiring. Sweat ran down his forehead, and even as I watched I could see his reaction time slowing down. 

“Oi!” I called. 

They all froze, looking at me with surprised expressions that made me laugh. “I’m glad you guys are getting so much training done, but maybe take breaks? Sam looks like he’s about to pass out," I said teasingly.

“Hey! I’m fine!” Sam panted, giving me a dirty look. I just smiled innocently at him and took another sip of my coffee. 

“Your mind is grateful that we’ve stopped,” Damien said, also a bit out of breath. 

“Shut up Damien!”

I chuckled again, then pulled my phone out of my back pocket to check the time. Eleven forty five. “You guys getting hungry? I’ll make lunch.”

“Whoa, seriously?” 

I arched an eyebrow at Sam. “I know it might be hard to believe, but I  _ can  _ cook more than just eggs and potatoes. I can even bake complex pastries if I put my mind to it.”

“Wait, n-no, I wasn’t insinuating-” Sam’s face was bright red as he tried to recover. I just snorted and took another sip of my coffee.

“There’s no need, you made breakfast, we can handle lunch.” James interrupted his brother’s fumbling.

I waved off his objections. “Nah, you guys are busy. I’ll take care of it. You go back to beating the shit out of Sam and I’ll toss something together.”

“Hey!”

I smiled to myself as I turned back and headed to the kitchen. 

I wasn’t hungry yet myself, but I had no idea how long they had been at it, and working up a sweat like that they were bound to be starving. I’d been upstairs for something like three hours after all. 

I pulled out a pot for rice, and grabbed chicken breasts from the fridge. There were plenty of spices, and as much as I was tempted to make something complicated out of spite, I really didn’t feel like making anything labour intensive, so chicken and rice it was. 

I put my music on again, this time making sure I was humming as opposed to bellowing along. A few years of show choir in school had seen that I could carry a tune, but I still wasn't super comfortable with people listening to me sing outside of a few specific circumstances. No one would walk in on me making a fool of myself this time! 

I grabbed five reusable water bottles, filling them with ice and water and took them out to the boys while I was waiting for the pot to boil. I set them on the step rather than disturbing them again.

Once the chicken and rice was cooked, I plated it and headed for the back, intending to ring the metaphorical dinner bell. But they weren’t there anymore. The water bottles were also gone. I frowned a bit and headed back to the kitchen, grabbing the plates, covering them in tinfoil, and setting them on the table in the dining room. 

They knew I was making lunch, they were big boys, they’d find it. I was considering heading back upstairs to unpack, but something stopped me. It almost felt like whatever force had stopped me from opening the drawer that second time. Less insistent. Like if I really wanted to, I could push through and head upstairs if that's what I really wanted. 

After a moment’s consideration, I grabbed a plate and headed off into the mansion. That seemed to be the decision the force, whatever it was, had wanted me to make. I rolled my eyes at myself. Magic, demons, devils. Now I was taking suggestions from mysterious forces. Just call me Obi Wan Kenobi, I guess. 

I was so distracted by my train of thought that didn’t notice a door to my right swinging open. What I did notice was it smacking into my shoulder. 

“Hey!” I yelped in surprise, taking a step back. I was going to say something about being more careful, but I was caught off guard by the sight of Sam stepping out from behind the door, dripping wet, and wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. 

“Ah crap, you alright?” he asked, looking at me apologetically. 

I slammed my jaw shut with a click and averted my eyes to just over his shoulder. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. Food?” The words came out in a rush.  _ That was smooth, Abigail.  _

“Oh, hey, thanks. You not eating anything?” he asked as he took the plate.

I shrugged. “Not hungry. Before you say anything, I’m for real not hungry. Taking a shower doesn’t burn many calories when it’s not preceded by a few hours of fighting your siblings.” 

He narrowed his eyes at me for a moment, then he balled up the tinfoil and tossed it back into the bathroom and presumably into a garbage can. “Alright.”

I was about to head out, but the way he fell on the food was something else. I couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped my lips. “So that’s just how you eat, huh?”

“Mmph? Oh, sorry,” he apologized through a mouthful of chicken. He swallowed before continuing. “It’s good.”

I inclined my head, accepting the compliment. I tried really hard not to gawk, but he really was nice to look at. He had big muscles, but they weren’t saran-wrap-defined, which I liked. One of my friends in high school had gotten really into bodybuilding for a while, and the sheer amount of effort and self-torture that went into the chiseled look had really ruined it for me. Sam looked super strong, but in a healthy way. And I could certainly still count his abs and see the delineation between his… other muscles. Triceps? Deltoids? Whatever. I didn’t need to know their names to appreciate them.

I averted my gaze before he could catch me ogling him, opting to lean on the wall and study the artwork hanging on the hall across from the bathroom door. 

I glanced back at him when I heard the clink of the plate being set down on a nearby table, and was surprised to see him fully dressed. The speed demon strikes again. 

“Alright,” he said, spine popping as he stretched. “I’m heading up to the roof.”

“The roof?”

“The roof. Wanna come with?” I considered him for a moment and determined he was serious. “I promise I won’t let you fall or whatever, okay?” he continued, interpreting my silence as fear. 

I grinned. “Oh, I’m more worried about you. City slickers aren’t known for their steady feet, especially the pretty ones.” I reached up and patted his cheek teasingly. 

His cheeks heated, a look of consternation clouding his features. “Hey!” But I had already turned, heading for the second floor.

He quickly caught up to me, passing me with a glare. There was no heat behind it though, and his still red-tinged cheeks took most of the power from it. I just smiled innocently at him, gesturing for him to lead the way. 

He swung a west-facing window open, gesturing for me to come closer. I arched an eyebrow but stepped up beside him. I figured he’d found his way to an attic with an access hatch, not decide that going out a window was the best option. Were there no mosquitoes? Did Americans not believe in screens? I stuck my head out the window and looked down, appreciating the height for a moment. 

“You sure you wanna do this- hey!”

Sam wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me firmly against his side. “Better hold on,” he told me as I reflexively put my arms around his neck. 

His grip tightened below my ribs as he stepped up onto the windowsill, using his other hand to grab the edge of the roof. I was no slouch in the strength department, but him using one arm to pull himself  _ and _ me up was pretty slick. I might be short, but I certainly wasn’t the most delicately built individual. 

He set me on the rough shingles, then finished pulling himself up, sitting beside me. I gave him an impressed look, moving back a little bit and sitting cross legged. Once we were both settled, there was about an inch between my knee and his thigh. I tried not to think about how aware of that inch I was.

“Impressive, Barry Allen.” Bruce Banner or Clark Kent would have been more appropriate, but I'd already started with the Barry Allen thing. I was nothing if not consistent with my nicknames.

“You never told me what that means.”

“I sure didn’t”

“You’re infuriating.”

“Infuriating? That’s a big word.”

He rolled his eyes, turning his attention to the view in front of us. It was pretty spectacular, I had to admit. The Chicago skyline laid out in the middle distance, fluffy white clouds scudding through the sky, the mid-afternoon sun warming the shingles beneath us. 

“Pretty sight, huh?”

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. He was studying the view, a soft expression on his face. I nodded. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

Not to sound like a cheesy romance novel, but I wasn’t entirely sure which view I was talking about. Gross.

“You know, it’s things like this that make the human world worth coming to.” 

I turned my face a bit more towards him, resting my head in my hands and watching him as he explained that he had only come to the human world to stay with his brothers. I smiled at him. It was sweet, really. It didn’t sound like he was happy here, but he cared enough about his brothers to come with them when they told him it was what they wanted. I opened my mouth to ask him more about the others, why they had chosen to come here, but clicked my jaw shut. That was something I should probably ask them, not their brother. 

“Do you regret coming?” I asked instead.

He considered me for a few seconds before breaking eye contact to look back out over the suburbs towards Chicago. “Nah.”

I watched him for another moment. He looked lost in thought, and I didn’t particularly want to disturb him, but he was nice to look at. Beyond that, he interested me. I couldn’t deny that anymore. I’d never met anyone like him. Most guys who were jerks didn’t spend time sitting on rooves admiring the view. Most guys who were jerks wouldn’t abandon their home for their brothers. We stayed in silence like that for a while, mulling over our thoughts.

“What?” He was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I fought down a blush at being caught staring. 

“I was just thinking that there’s more to you than you want people to see. But you’re not doing a  _ particularly  _ great job hiding it, because I’m starting to see what’s below that tough guy exterior.”

I was caught off guard by my own honesty and looked back out over the view.

He grunted, and made a sound like he was going to disagree, but then changed tack mid breath. “You said that Andrew clown wasn’t your type…?"

I looked back at him, schooling my face into a blank expression. I thought I knew where he was going, but I wanted to be sure, to hear him ask the question. Because that would be wild, a demon from another dimension interested in what my type was. Erik was one thing, his MO was flirting, that was his default. I hadn’t thought anything of it when it came from him. But Sam was different. He didn’t seem to ask questions with answers that didn’t interest him. 

And there was no way he was interested in me.

He shifted uncomfortably for a moment before caving. “What  _ is  _ your type?”

Welp.  _ It still doesn’t mean anything, _ a small corner of my mind argued.  _ You shouldn’t  _ want _ it to mean anything, remember? _

“Listen,” I started, pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. “If, after talking with someone for thirty minutes the only adjective I can use to describe them is ‘nice,’ I’m not interested. As for what my type  _ is _ ...” I shrugged. “I dunno, really. I never dated in high school, I don’t work, and I took a gap year so I haven’t gone to university yet. Opportunities to meet people have been pretty limited. I’ll know it when I see it, I guess.”  _ You know what your type is noooooow, _ said another little voice in the  _ other  _ corner of my head. I ignored it. “Not Andrew, is the point. His hands were too soft.”

“His… hands were too soft…?” Sam repeated.

I held my hand out to him, palm up. After a moment he reached out and touched it, running his fingers across my skin. “I’ve worked with my hands pretty much my whole life,” I told him, watching his face for a reaction to the calluses, small scars, and general roughness of my hand. He had some sort of response; something in his face changed, but I couldn’t tell what it was. It didn’t seem negative, so I continued. “It might not be a working farm, but we always have dogs, horses, and chickens to take care of. I'm always outside, looking after the animals, tearing around on an ATV, riding bareback through the trails and up the mountain. The most time I spent indoors was when I was in school. I don't know what I’d do if I was cooped up inside for days at a time. It’s not like I don’t respect people who lead more idle lives. It takes all sorts to make the world go ‘round, after all. But… I dunno.” I shrugged. 

His fingers were lingering on a rather large callus on the side of my index finger, right where the reins usually sat when I was out riding. “I just can’t see myself ending up with someone who’s content to spend the whole day sitting on their ass, you know?”

He nodded before seeming to realize how his hand was lingering on mine and snatching it back. I shrugged again, putting my hand back on the roof and looking back out towards the cityscape.

Hmm. I was definitely going to have to address the way my heart beat a little faster when he looked at me, the way I wanted to slide closer and press our legs together. Not now though. Maybe not even while he was staying at the mansion. Catching feelings for someone who broke into your house was  _ the worst idea. _

It was starting to seem like it might be too late.

“You guys know what you’re gonna do once you’ve dealt with Malix?” I changed the subject.

Sam shrugged. “Probably what we were doing before.”

“And that was…?”

“Travelling.”

“Ah.”

I  _ definitely  _ didn’t want to think about how that made my chest tighten. Nope nope nope.

I adjusted my weight a bit, intending to excuse myself and leave him alone with his thoughts, so I could be alone with mine, when I lost my balance. 

Funny, almost. After I had given him a hard time about being a pretty city slicker, I was the one pitching forward towards the edge of the roof. 

I gave a yelp of fear, but Sam’s strong, competent hands caught me around my waist, pulling me back onto the roof. I had no idea if it was an accident of the angle he had pulled me at, or if he had meant to do it, but I was suddenly straddling his lap, my face mere inches from his, his arms wrapped securely around me. 

“I gotcha, you okay?”

I let out a breathless laugh. “I’m good. Thanks for the save.” My knees and the tops of my feet pressed uncomfortably on the rough shingles, but I barely noticed.

My heart was racing, and Sam was holding me so close I could feel his own pounding through my palms pressed against his chest. I tried, unsuccessfully, to tear my eyes from his. They were ridiculously green. I had never felt insecure about my own steel blue-grey eyes until I met him.

I took a bit of comfort from the fact that he seemed similarly at a loss, looking back at me with something like confusion. Both of us were blushing like crazy. A common occurrence since we had met, a distant part of me noted wryly.

I was suddenly struck by the realization that he smelled like mountain air and… pine needles? Something outdoors and vibrant with growing things. I liked it. 

“Hey, I uh, I might as well say it now,” he started. I tilted my head a bit, wondering where he was going. I tried to focus on his words rather than the way my raging hormones wanted me to press myself even closer to him. “I’m sorry for being such a dick when we met. And every time after that.”

That sounded… sincere? I could tell he was being genuine, there was remorse in his eyes as he looked up at me. Also a little bit of hope as he waited to see if I would forgive him. 

Part of me wanted to hold… everything against him. Not a part of me I was particularly proud of, but a part of me that was terrified of what it had felt like to lose control like I had Friday afternoon. I considered him for a moment before I snorted, giving him a lopsided grin. Fuck it.

“If I was the kind of person to hold grudges, I wouldn’t have made it through high school. You were hurt and not thinking clearly. As long as you don’t do it again, you’re alright by me. Slip ups I can deal with. Patterns of shitty behaviour, not so much.” 

Yup. I was officially nuts. Completely bananaballs. Bonkers. Who would give the bad news to my moms?

He was about to reply, but I pressed a finger to his lips. “That doesn’t mean that I’m gonna forget it. It  _ was _ my first kiss, after all,” I said teasingly, my grin widening.

I pulled my hand back, but Sam still didn’t say anything, a look of concentration falling over his face as he turned his head to the side. That was when I noticed the slight tremble in his arms, muscles straining to hold us in place. I considered getting off of him, but I was worried that would lead to  _ him _ sliding off the roof.

Was he... hungry? He had snarfed the chicken and rice down, but maybe it was more than that. He and his brothers had, apparently, all taken a bit of energy from me that first night, but had it been enough? I had no idea how often they needed to feed that way. None of them had said anything since, so I had thought it must be infrequently. Of course, he had also been training with the others for hours, all of them beating on him, and now he was supporting me as he kept both of us from sliding off the roof. He wasn’t the type to complain, but I had seen how tired he was when I had interrupted their training earlier. 

Hesitantly, I put my hands on either side of his face, turning his head so he was facing me. “Sam, do you need energy?” I was proud that the sudden, tentative shyness I felt didn’t show in my voice. 

His jaw worked for a moment before he tore his eyes from mine. He didn’t pull away from my touch, though, and I could tell he didn’t just take energy from me either. Which I appreciated. Clearly he had taken my lecture on clear consent the other day seriously. But he was struggling, and I could help him. Mother had always told me that if I could help someone, I should.

I  _ highly doubted _ she had meant that to apply to a demon that I was maybe-probably-falling for draining my energy, but still. Despite my best attempts at clinging to logic, I was worried about Sam.

“Uh, I mean- I really… I don’t…”

I smirked at him, my nervousness fading a bit. Where was the confidence and cocky attitude now? Was he flustered? I did that. Me. A curly haired, freckled human, made an incubus flustered enough to be at a loss for words. 

I loosened my grip on his face a bit. “Look, if you don’t need it, don’t want it, whatever, that’s fine. But I’m offering. I don’t know about you, but I could think of worse things to do than kiss a hot guy on the roof of a mansion in a suburb of Chicago, so-”

That warm calm suddenly crashed through me as Sam’s irises were suddenly streaked through with gold. 

“Kissing a hot guy, huh?” he said in a low, somewhat smug voice that sent shivers down my spine. "Somehow, I don't think  _ you're  _ the one getting the better end of the deal here."

Interestingly, there was no compulsion like there had been the first time. Sure, the strange calmness was there, but I didn’t feel like I  _ needed _ to kiss him, or like he was forcing me. That was finally enough to quiet the small part of me that still wasn’t sure I should trust him. 

My hands shifted from his cheeks, fingers tangling in his hair as he pulled me closer to him. His own hands moved further up my back, pressing me against his chest, the dog tags he wore cool on my chest as his lips crushed against mine. I hummed happily, letting myself sink into the calm warmth of his strange thrall. 

It was much more pleasant, being a willing participant, and not just because I wasn’t fighting it. The touch of his hands against my back, the way his lips moved firmly against mine, how secure I felt in his arms, it seemed… right somehow. Like some part of me had been waiting for this moment. I didn’t know how much of that was incubus magic flowing through my veins and how much came from me, all I knew was I was perfectly happy to stay there for as long as Sam needed me. 

The energy he was draining from me left me relaxed and happily lethargic rather than lightheaded and nauseous like it had the other day.

Eventually, Sam’s hands moved from my back to my face, gently pushing me away from him before shifting to my shoulders. My eyes fluttered open, blinking in the sunlight. We were both breathing heavily, just staring at each other as the warmth running through my veins lessened, lessened, until it was gone completely. 

And I still wanted to keep kissing him. Interesting. I was definitely gonna have to process this at some point. Sooner rather than later. He moved a hand from my face, tucking a stray curl back behind my ear. Nope, not processing it right now.

He wanted to keep going, too. I could see it in his eyes. But he wasn’t saying anything. Did he still feel bad about the first kiss thing? Or was it something else? I took a moment, both to regain my breath and to analyze whether the urge to keep kissing him came from me or from some lingering effects of his magic. If I was going to make out with a demon on the roof of my recently deceased grandfather's mansion, I wanted to be  _ damn  _ sure it was something  _ I  _ wanted, not the results of weird sex magic. I disentangled a hand from his hair, moving it to cup his face for a moment, thumb ghosting over the arch of his cheek. 

To my surprise, Sam closed his eyes and nuzzled into my touch. Satisfied that I wasn’t under some sort of charm, I leaned back in, pressing my lips softly against his again, tentatively asking if he wanted this too. Sam gave a brief gasp of surprise, but he kissed me back, catching my lower lip between his teeth for a moment. It was almost a question of his own.  _ Are you sure? _

I responded by opening my mouth a bit, deepening our kiss. 

I moved my hands down the side of his face to his chest, slipping beneath his vest to explore his muscled torso through his thin green shirt.

Slowly, as though giving me a chance to say no or smack him away, his grip on me shifted, hands moving forwards to undo the remaining buttons of my shirt, tugging most of it free from the waistband of my jeans. I gave a low groan into our kiss at the feeling of his hands on the bare skin of my chest as his fingers softly traced my collarbone before sliding around my torso beneath my button up but, infuriatingly, over my tank top. 

His lips left mine, and I made a displeased sound that turned into a throaty moan as he moved his attention down my jaw to my neck. I angled my head a bit to give him better access, my fingers reflexively digging into his side as he nipped the sensitive skin just above my collarbone. 

“Oh you’re bad,” I said, but any reproach in my tone was lost in a whimper of pleasure as he did it again, a little harder. I could have sworn I felt him smile against me. 

Much to my embarrassment, he kept drawing small whimpers and moans of enjoyment from me as he kept at it, moving from place to place on my neck, my chest, even behind my ear at one point. 

I wasn’t complete putty in his hands, however. I managed to get a few groans of satisfaction from him too. He liked it when I dug my nails into his shoulders and back, or when I tangled my fingers in his hair and tugged.

I don’t know how long we were making out, but eventually black spots began clouding my vision. At first I didn’t notice. I was lost in the feeling of his lips on my neck, his hands pressed firmly on the small of my back. But the spots kept growing, and I began feeling lightheaded in a way that was completely unrelated to how his tongue licked soothingly against the spot on my shoulder he had just bit a little harder than he felt he should have. 

“Sammy…” I tried to get his attention, but my grip on his shoulders was weakening. 

He groaned something into the crook of my neck that might have been my name, but the darkness was rushing at me too fast for me to really interpret it, then I was unconscious. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another short one because the next bit is pretty long and there was no real nice way for me to break this section up more. maybe i'll start a side series, abigail's therapy corner, where she just helps the incubi deal with their crap. 
> 
> okay not really but it's tempting

I yawned as I blinked slowly awake. What time was it? The light that was slanting in through the big windows told me it was late evening, orange rays from the setting sun lighting up the trees outside my room. 

That made me frown. Hadn’t I just been making lunch? My head felt fuzzy. I closed my eyes, trying to remember. I made chicken and rice, dished up five plates for the boys and then… I had gone to find… one of them. 

My face heated as I finally remembered what Sam and I had gotten up to on the roof. That certainly explained the spots of soreness I felt on my neck, shoulders, and chest. I couldn’t bring myself to regret it though. It’d been… nice. 

Ohno. I definitely  _ should _ regret it. Bad Abigail. 

I sat up, noting I was fully dressed. Sam had even redone the buttons of my shirt he had opened, though he hadn't gone as far as to tuck it back into my jeans. I was about to start looking for my phone to check the time when I noticed a folded piece of notepaper on the pillow next to me. Hesitating for just a moment, I picked it up and opened it.

It took me a moment to decipher the messy writing that was on it.

_ Sorry, I went a little too far. _

I smiled a little, running my fingers across the paper. There were a lot of overlapping indents in the paper, like he had tried many times to get his writing neater before deciding on using the one I held in my hands. I could practically see him, hunched over a desk or table, maybe muttering to himself when he wasn’t happy with how it turned out. I wondered if his tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he focussed.

_ Ohno. _

But… he had nothing to apologize for, really. I was the one who initiated and had encouraged continuing. Sure, it wasn’t ideal that I had passed out. Definitely didn’t want unconsciousness to be a regularly occurring side effect of kissing.

Even putting that aside, I had thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I was so screwed.

I shook myself a bit, swinging my legs out from beneath the covers, stretching, and turning the bedside lamp on. I refolded the note and tucked it in my back pocket before standing in front of the mirror to take a look at my neck. Several decent hickies dotted my skin, there was even something that looked a bit like a bite mark on my shoulder. I surprised myself with how much I liked that.

I caught sight of my phone on the nightstand. Sam must have taken it out of my pocket before tucking me in. Remembering my earlier conversation with Natalia, I grabbed it and typed out a message. 

_ Okay. So. I made out with a guy for...  
_ _ a while. On the roof of the mansion.  
_ _ I have hickies _

My finger hovered over the send button, but I paused. My time with Sam had been fun, but I had no idea if there was more than that between us. What would I even say next?

It wasn’t like I could tell her what Sam really was.  _ Hey Nat. Five guys broke into my house. They’re demons from a different plain of existence and I played tonsil hockey with one of them because my sense of self-preservation and common sense have gone  _ completely  _ out the window. Oh also magic is real and I can use it. Chicago is delightful this time of year, warmer than Alberta. Love you, hope Vancouver is treating you well. _

No. No I needed to tell her at least about the making out. It would be incredibly shitty of me to hide something like that from her after promising to tell her about it. Besides, she  _ was _ my best friend; I didn’t want to hide things I didn’t  _ absolutely  _ have to from her.

Also if I didn’t talk to  _ someone _ about  _ something _ that was happening in my life right now my brain would melt and slide out of my ears.

I sent the text.

Aaaand within moments of it going through my phone was ringing.

“What?!” 

She hadn’t even given me a chance to say ‘hello.’ I laughed, a little surprised at the sheer relief I felt at hearing her voice. I hadn’t been able to talk to her since before my grandfather died, and with everything else happening… it was good to hear a familiar voice. 

“Hello Natalia. It’s nice to talk to you too. How is school going? Is Steph alright?”

“Don’t change the subject!” she hollered in my ear. “You’ve never even  _ looked _ at someone with romantic  _ or  _ sexual interest, then you go to Chicago and within  _ three days  _ you’re making out with a boy on a  _ roof _ ?!”

I chuckled, sitting back down on the bed. Apparently this was going to be a long conversation.

“Listen,” I replied. “What happens in Chicago, stays in Chicago.”

I rearranged the pillows so I was leaning against the wall, my legs stretched out in front of me as Natalia replied.

“Bullshit it does! Tell me everything about this guy and also send me pics.”

“I don’t have a photo of him?”

“Well get one! I need to know if he deserves you and his aesthetic plays a part in that!”

I snorted. “I don’t know if it was more than just a make out, Nat. Do I really need your approval for a one-time make out?”

“One, yes, two, do you  _ want _ it to be a one-time make out?”

I opened my mouth to reply, then clicked my jaw shut again. Sonofabitch she had me there. I hadn’t even started to think about what I wanted my relationship with Sam to be, but her asking the question made me realize that I  _ didn’t _ want it to just be a one-off.

“That’s what I thought!” she said triumphantly. “Tell me ev-er-y-thing.”

She didn’t interrupt me as I spoke. I quickly told her the story about the boys being servants, managing to not stutter, thankfully. 

“So let me get this straight,” she said once I had finished telling my story. “You arrive at your grandpa’s mansion and meet five brothers who are all living there with you, and who work for you now. One’s kinda stuffy, one’s got daddy issues of some kind, one reminds you of your fourteen year old brother, one keeps mostly to himself and is quiet most of the time. Oh, and one of them is outright rude to you, doesn’t seem to care much about anything, was probably voted ‘most likely to own a motorcycle and rob a convenience store’ in high school.  _ That’s _ the one you decide to make out with on the roof?”

“Mmm, I feel like you’re missing some of the nuance but yeah pretty much.”

“Abs. This is the most heterosexual foolishness I’ve ever heard.”

“Ouch! That stings, Nat.”

“I call ‘em like I see ‘em. You’re making out with someone whose salary you pay. Or, whose salary your grandfather’s estate pays. Whatever. Besides, you met this guy two days ago. You’re way too into him for someone you met two days ago.”

“You… are not wrong,” I said slowly. None of the boys were  _ actually _ working for me. That being said... “But hey! I’m not ‘way too into him’!”

“I know you, Abby. When you were talking about him you had the same tone of voice you use when you’re talking about the monsters in Pacific Rim.”

“Kaiju,” I corrected automatically. 

“Exactly. Also, this guy sounds like a real Chuck Hansen. Your type continues to be cranky strongmen with tempers.”

“Listen,” I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead, trying to figure out the right words to get across how I was feeling. “I know it’s dumb. I just…”

There was a sigh from the other end of the line. “Just. Don’t be dumb, okay? You’re basically alone out there, and I don’t trust your aunt to be reliable if you need help.”

I snorted. “You’ve got that right,” I agreed. “I’m being careful, I promise. Plus the eldest brother, James, he’s very proper. I doubt he’d let the rest get away with anything too scandalous. Also, I can look after myself!”

“Don’t I know it,” Natalia laughed. “Remember in eleventh grade when Rob DeForte grabbed your ass in the hall and you almost broke his wrist?”

We spent a few minutes reminiscing about high school, then she let me go with orders to give her updates and also send her a picture of Sam as soon as I could manage it. 

I spent a few minutes in front of the mirror arranging my hair, trying to cover the marks without looking like I was ashamed of them. Because I wasn’t, but I also didn’t feel like flaunting the fact that I had fooled around with Sam in front of his brothers.

What I was really doing was stalling, trying to work out my feelings. 

I had a thing for Sam. Duh. Definitely couldn’t try and think myself out of it now. I didn’t necessarily like it, but I didn’t have to like it for it to be true. This whole five-men-living-in-my-house thing just got more complicated. More than just that though, how deep did my feelings go? Making out had been fun. A lot of fun. But he was brash and impulsive. He and his brothers had  _ broken into my grandfather’s mansion _ . He was a literal demon. He had kissed me without my consent when I first met him for chrissake. 

_ Yeah, but he apologized for that.  _ And _ you told him you didn’t hold grudges. _

It was still creepy. What else would he do without consent?

_ Nothing? He’s a good guy, he was just in pain and wasn’t thinking straight. He was hurt! _

That’s not an excuse! If I had to develop feelings for one of them why did it have to be Sam?

_ James is too formal, Erik’s flirting makes you uncomfortable, Matthew reminds you too much of your brother, and Damien has a _ lot _ of baggage he needs to sort through before he’s ready for a relationship. Besides, there’s a good guy somewhere in Sam, you just have to coax it out.  _

I don’t want to date someone who's good qualities I have to hunt for. That’s bogus as hell. Besides, for something like that to be worth it I’d have to be super into him, and I’m only kinda into him. Checkmate.

_ Uuuuuuhm. You sure about that? Because you’re practically purring about how he marked you. _

Ugh. This wasn’t getting me anywhere. Besides, Damien was a literal mind-reader who, if he was paying attention, he was gonna be, at the very least, kinda grossed out by me thinking about making out with his brother.

Making a face at myself in the mirror, I finally left the room, practically taking the stairs two at a time, suddenly full of nervous energy. I could hear the telltale sounds of the boys training in the backyard once more. I didn’t want to interrupt them again, but I could smell food, and my stomach rumbled, reminding me that I had skipped lunch.

I headed into the dining room, pausing at the sight of a covered tray sitting at what I was coming to think of as my usual spot. My name was written on a piece of paper in Erik’s elegant cursive, taped onto the insulating metal cover. I took the cover off, smiling at the still-hot plate of pasta with shrimp that was waiting.

I put the tray and cover in the kitchen, grabbing a glass of juice before wandering back out towards the back of the house until I found a window that looked out on the backyard.

Much like when I had interrupted them earlier that afternoon, the others were arranged around Sam, throwing punches and kicks at him. He was blocking much more quickly now than he had earlier, I noticed. He barely seemed to be breaking a sweat, the muscles of his arms flexing and stretching as he blocked and returned blows near flawlessly. He was focussing, a little furrow in his brow as he watched his brothers’ incoming attacks, lip curled in something between a smirk and a snarl. I found myself watching his face, studying the minute changes in expression, wondering what he would look like when-

And that was enough of  _ that _ .

I took my juice and my dinner and headed in the vague direction I remembered the entertainment room being in. I found it, grabbing the remotes for the large TV before collapsing in one of the cushy recliners. I flicked through YouTube for a moment before settling on a new Monster Factory video. 

Once I had eaten, I took stock of the room, the video still playing. There was a row of black leather recliners arrayed around the room, each with cup holders built into the armrests and small side tables between them. More centralized in front of the screen there was a big couch made of the same dark leather. There was probably room for ten or so people before you’d run out of seating.

Maybe I could convince the boys to do a movie night before they left.  _ Not tonight _ , I thought, ruefully rubbing my still-sore neck, but I’d bring it up. It could be fun! I had no idea how long they’d been in… the human realm (god that was a weird string of words to think), but there was bound to be movies I could show them that they hadn’t seen.

My phone buzzed from where I had set it on the cushy armrest next to me, and I glanced at the screen. A text from aunt Sylvia.

I felt a surge of irritation. I could just ignore her, get back to her tomorrow. I knew her better than that though. She’d keep messaging me until either I answered or she got fed up and started calling me. If that didn’t work she’d call my mom and pester  _ her  _ to get a hold of me.

I unlocked my phone with a sigh.

_ Meet me at the Pink Lady Cafe  
_ _ tomorrow morning? I want to talk _

I hummed for a moment, considering turning her down. But… maybe she wanted to apologize for the Andrew thing. And if I told her no she’d raise a stink with my mom, and I’d never hear the end of it. I sighed again.

_ Alright. When? _

The response came almost immediately. 

_ 10am _

_ Okay _

I locked my phone, suddenly tired despite my impromptu nap. That’s what I got for waking up at five on a Sunday. And then letting a literal demon drain my energy, I supposed. 

“And what are you doing in here all alone, princess?”

I glanced at the door and waved a hand at Erik. “Eating dinner and watching a video.” I paused the video in question, the McElroy brothers’ latest monstrosity frozen in the act of beating an innocent NPC senseless with its fists. 

Erik grimaced at the screen, but took the seat in the recliner next to me when I patted it. I set my dishes on the floor in front of my chair and pulled my legs up, turning and sitting cross legged so I was facing him. I watched as the flirty bravado he had entered the room with faltered under my cool gaze. It was his turn.

“So. What’s your deal, Erik?” I put my elbows on my knees and cradled my face in my hands, watching him.

“I don’t know what you mean, princess.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes, so I knew I was on the right track. The only thing I needed to figure out was what approach I wanted to take. 

I hummed noncommittally for a moment before I made my decision. 

“There’s something going on with you that you don't want people to know. In my experience, talking about stuff makes it better than sitting on it and letting it fester, but hey, I’m just the psychologist's daughter.” Then I simply watched him quietly. 

Emotions danced across his face. It was something I’d noticed with all the incubi, except maybe James. What they were feeling played across their faces like a billboard. I couldn’t necessarily identify everything I saw, I wasn’t great at reading people’s expressions, but it was there. From Erik, I recognized irritation, hope, denial, frustration, and finally a grudging respect. 

“Hmm. Perhaps I underestimated you.” I gave him a small smile. 

“Like people underestimate you?”

After a moment of silence, he continued and told me a bit about how he was raised. I was surprised to learn that each of the boys had a different mother. I  _ desperately _ wanted to ask questions, but this wasn’t about my curiosity right now. 

The boys were so different in appearance, I probably should have seen it coming. I had personal experience with that. Mother was my biological parent, mom was Chris’. Stefan, mom’s best friend, hadn’t been involved enough in raising us to earn the title of father, but he was technically our biological dad. Chris was tall and lanky with dark brown hair and a serious face to my short and curvy, wild red hair, soft features. People were always surprised to learn we were brother and sister.

“So your mother taught you that you had no value beyond how well you treated women?” I managed to keep most of the distaste I felt for that out of my voice. 

“She just wanted to prevent me from turning into our father,” Erik said, defending her. 

I tilted my head, acknowledging his point. Trying to tell him his mother had failed him as much as his father apparently had wouldn’t be constructive to the point I was trying to make. “She was - is - poorly treated, and overcompensated for… however your father behaves, when raising you. You flirt with everyone you meet because you were taught that your value came from making other people, women specifically, happy. I assume, because you’re an incubus, you were raised to think that sex and flirting is the way to do that. If the flirting is part of  _ who  _ you are, that’s fine, but you should understand that making others happy isn’t  _ all  _ you are, Erik. That’s not all anyone is. You have your own value as a person, just yourself, not how you affect others. I haven’t known you very long, but you’re empathetic, and well-spoken, and compassionate, and wanting to make other people happy is a good value to have, but it’s not all you are. It's not your job to make everyone around you happy at the expense of yourself. And there’s plenty of ways to make people happy without flirting. You can make other people happy without the… flirty mask, if that's what you want.” 

I stretched, yawning and turning my face away so we could both pretend that I hadn’t seen how hard that had hit him. “But I’m all out of therapist-speak for tonight. This is something you’re gonna have to work on yourself, but other people care about you, and they’re more than willing to help you out.” I got out of the recliner and scooped up my dishes. 

“The remote is right there.” I gestured to the clicker on the armrest of the chair I had just vacated. “It’s on YouTube right now, but there’s a digital library of movies and TV shows to choose from. Netflix too, I think. Just turn it off once you're done.” He nodded, but didn’t say anything or make a move for the remote, so I just headed towards the door.

I had almost left the room when he spoke up in a low tone that I didn’t think I was meant to hear.

“Sam is lucky to have you.”

I paused and glanced over my shoulder and arched an eyebrow. He was watching me wistfully, something sad in his eyes. The sharp retort I had been about to make about how I wasn't anyone's to have froze in my throat.

“Friendship isn’t second place, Erik,” I said gently. 

And just like that, the wistful expression was gone and he was smiling at me. “Of course not, princess. Sleep well and dream of me.”

I snorted. “Goodnight, Erik.”

I idly wondered if Sam had told them, Damien pulled it from one of our heads, or if Erik had seen the marks on my neck and come to a logical conclusion. It shouldn’t matter, not really. But a part of me hoped Sam had told them. A silly, stupid part of me.

I cleaned my dishes, put a note on the fridge letting the boys know I would be out tomorrow morning, and headed upstairs. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: when i was first thinking about writing seduce me fic, it was 50/50 whether Abby was gonna end up with Sam or Naomi. i ended up going with Sam mostly because i wanted to play in the abyssal plain, and thus Carry You Home came to be. as a lesbian, Naomi/Abby would've been a lot of fun too, but quite a bit shorter, I think. as it is i'm really happy with Abby and Sam 
> 
> other fun fact: this chapter started on page 69 of my google doc (nice)

The next morning I managed to sleep in a bit. Eight thirty was still early for some people, but for me it was a luxurious lie in. 

When I got out of bed, I was a bit startled to see Simon sitting on the top of a nearby dresser. He was facing the door, looking for all the world like he was keeping an eye out for intruders. I walked over and put a finger on the top of his head, spinning him to face the wall. 

“You’re cute, but demon squirrel doodads don’t get to watch me get dressed.” I ruffled the fur on top of his head fondly before heading over to my suitcase. 

I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Matthew about him. That would have to happen at some point. Because either the doll was sentient and able to move around, or someone was sneaking around and putting him places. I wasn’t the lightest sleeper, but I still liked to think that I’d notice someone coming in and out of my room.

I decided on a sundress, pulling on the yellow lace, mid-thigh length twirly thing mother had bought for me last year. It had  _ pockets _ and was therefore superior to the cocktail dress from the other night. 

I did my makeup and grabbed my purse from my suitcase, moving my wallet and chapstick and other necessities from my carry-on. That’s when I glanced back at the dresser and saw that Simon was no longer perched on top of it. 

Well then. That definitely didn’t even make the top ten on the list of weird that had happened to me recently, so there was no point in getting worked up over it. 

What was my life even anymore?

After double checking the contents of my purse, I took another look at myself in the mirror. 

The marks Sam had left on me had faded to almost nothing, I noted. If we had a round two, I’d tell him to not hold back so much. 

I paused, looking at my reflection. Who was I? I had gone from not having my first kiss to having a thing for marking in the span of three days. 

That would be a psychological ball of yarn for me to untangle later. I was putting off a lot of self-reflection lately. In my defense, I figured the weirdest week of my life warranted it.

I fluffed my hair, then headed downstairs. I head vague sounds from the backyard. So the boys were already up and back at it, huh? I was glad they were focussed, but part of me was a little sad. Were they so eager to leave? 

I shook my head. That was ridiculous. If anything, they were eager to not be hunted, and I  _ should _ be eager to not have a houseful of demons. 

Walking into the dining room, I saw a tray waiting in my spot again. I smiled a bit, taking the lid off with one hand and picking up the note beside the tray with the other. 

Bacon, scrambled eggs, coffee, and toast. Breakfast of champions. The note, written in the same awkward, messy hand as the note from yesterday.

_ Have a good day, yours _

Mine, huh? 

Had he made this himself? The way James had reacted yesterday when I told him Sam was in the kitchen told me he wasn’t big on cooking. It was pretty cute, the thought of him making breakfast for me. 

I folded the note up and put it in my wallet, making a mental note to put the one he had left me earlier in there when I got back. 

The toast was a little burnt on one side, but that just made me smile. 

_ Oh you got it baaaaaad _ .

I sighed and pulled my phone from the pocket of my dress to check the time. The cab I had ordered would be here any minute. My aunt might not be the most punctual person, but I’d had it drilled into me from a young age that being on time for meetings was important. I stood up and grabbed my purse, heading for the entryway. 

Malix’s threat echoed in the back of my head.  _ You’re gonna pay for what you did. Step outside, I dare you _ . 

I wasn’t one to cave to threats. Part of it was stubbornness. Mother always said I’d never go around when through gave me the option of knocking a few heads together. I thought of it more as not letting the bastards get me down. 

That being said, devils with magic guns were a  _ bit _ outside my pay-grade. 

Still. I refused to be scared into cowering in my house like a cornered mouse. 

I was checking my makeup in the mirror beside the door when a tentative hand touched my elbow. I started a bit, not having heard anyone approach, but relaxed marginally when I saw it was Sam. 

I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped. He looked… not miserable exactly. Worried. I waited for him to tell me what was bothering him, tilting my head quizzically. 

After a moment, his hand fell off my elbow. “My name…” he started before frowning again and looking away, as if he was unsure how to proceed. 

“What about your name?” I prompted gently.

“My true name isn’t Sam.”

Now it was my turn to frown. Suddenly, I recalled something from my grandfather's journal. Demons had true names that gave whoever knew them some measure of power over them. The journal hadn’t gone too much into specifics, I didn’t think. Honestly most of what I had read was hazy in my memory, fogged by the awareness of  _ everything _ I had felt. 

My palms were suddenly clammy. Was Sam going to tell me his true name? That seemed… big. Bigger than one makeout session and two cute handwritten notes should warrant. 

“I want you… I want you to know my real name in case something happens.” Ah, so that  _ was _ what was happening. My heart thundered in my chest, and I tried my best to will it to slow down. It didn't work, of course, but it was something to focus on that wasn't 'this guy I've known for two and a half days is about to tell me something big.'

“Do you think something’s gonna happen?” I had meant to say it in a teasing tone, try to lighten the mood, but he seemed so concerned. I couldn’t bring myself to poke fun at him when he was so obviously worried.

He shrugged, looking at me again. “Dunno. Something’s bothering me, and I want you to know just in case.” 

He reached out again, taking my hand and tugging me closer to him. His mountain air and pine needle scent surrounded me, calming my racing heart in a way I hadn't been able to by myself. His hands weren’t as calloused as mine, but they were firm, with a roughness to them that told me he was no stranger to working with his hands.

“My name is Aomaris.” He said it in a low tone that wasn’t quite a whisper, his lips next to my ear. A shiver ran down my spine that had less to do with how close he was and more to do with the feeling of his name settling into my bones. Somehow I knew I would never forget it. 

I pulled back a little bit to look him in the eyes. He looked back, worry still clouding their green depths. I smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze. 

“If you’re in any danger, anytime, it doesn’t matter when, I promise I’ll come help you.” He spoke in a slow, deliberate voice, like a knight taking an oath. A warm, happy glow lit in my belly. 

This demon, who pretended to not care about anyone, who snarled and growled but left his home so he could stay with his brothers, had offered me the gift of unconditional protection. Did he know that I knew how much that likely meant? Did he know how much it meant to me that he offered to protect me in a way no one had since I had been a kid?

“If my aunt turns out to be working for the local mafia, you’ll be the first person I call.” My eyes sparkled with a mix of happiness and mischief, and I couldn’t resist putting my free hand on the side of his face, giving the other cheek a quick kiss. I heard the sound of tires on pavement, heralding the arrival of my cab. 

“Don’t train too hard, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt,” I said, giving him a wink before letting go of his hand and heading out the door. I glanced over my shoulder, smiling at the sight of Sam standing in the open door, watching me leave. The worry in his eyes had somewhat faded, something soft replacing it as he watched me get in the back of the cab.

Doing my best to put him and the other boys out of my mind, I told the driver where I wanted to go and watched the suburbs flow past the window. 

Despite my best efforts, my thoughts kept returning to the boys. No, that wasn’t true. Sam. My thoughts kept returning to Sam. It was Monday morning. I had met him Friday afternoon, and he hadn’t made a good first impression. Yet, here I was, sitting in a cab, butterflies in my stomach as I thought about that look in his eyes as I left the mansion. Ugh. 

I definitely wasn’t mad about the kiss anymore. A part of me still felt that I should be, but it sounded small and petty. 

He had trusted me with his true name. That wasn’t nothing. That, coupled with how gentle he had been on the roof, giving me time to stop him before doing anything, told me that he might feel some kind of way about me, too. Maybe the way he had watched me and Andrew at the party  _ had _ been jealousy. 

There was more going on with him, with all the boys, that I didn’t know. Maybe that would change my mind and I wouldn’t want anything more to do with any of them let alone Sam specifically. But I doubted it. His hands were strong, I was happy to get lost in his eyes, and he was a lot of fun to tease. And hey, bonus, he was a great kisser, and his hands made me want to melt when he touched me. 

I shook myself. I was going to meet my aunt. I didn’t need to be thinking Horny Thoughts while having coffee with her. 

It didn’t take very long to reach the Pink Lady Cafe, and after paying the cab driver, I stepped inside. It definitely earned its name. There was a lot of pink. It made me think of Dragon Tales, the cafe near where I went to school. No homogeneous decor to mark it as a chain, just mismatched chairs and cute paintings that added a personal touch. 

Of course, Dragon Tales had more faux stone walls and less pink upholstery. 

It was almost completely empty, just a man reading a newspaper at a table in the back, and the barista at the counter. After a moment's consideration of the menu, I decided it would be better to get a recommendation; I had no clue what to get. My go-to was usually something with lots of caramel and espresso, but mother had told me that small, local places usually had specialties that were worth trying. For that, I'd have to talk to the lady behind the counter.

“Hi! I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before,” she said in a soft, musical voice as I stepped up to the register. 

I shook my head. “I’m new around here, Abigail Anderson,” I said by way of introduction. She was wearing a name tag, but I’d always hated knowing service workers’ names when they didn’t know mine. It felt like a weird power play. 

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Anderson like Anderson toys?” She flushed, putting a hand to her lips. “Sorry, that was rude of me. Naomi Patterson.” I gave her a smile to try and ease her embarrassment. She was adorable.

“Yeah, that’s me. I’m staying at my grandfather’s estate.”

“Oh, yes. I heard. I’m so sorry for your loss. Your grandfather used to come in here a lot, he was a kind man.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump that had suddenly developed in my throat. “Yes. He was. At any rate, do you have any recommendations?” I changed the subject, gesturing to the menu boards behind her. 

She clapped her hands together and began making suggestions. I liked her.

I decided on a Pink Lady Latte and a piece of chocolate cake with white chocolate drizzled over it. 

I took a table by the window and messed around on my phone while I waited for my aunt. The coffee and the cake were quite good, and I finished both a lot more quickly than I meant to. For reasons I couldn't put my finger on, the hair on the back of my neck had started to raise over the course of the half hour or so I had been sitting there.

Aunt Sylvia was later than usual. I fired off a quick text asking where she was, but she didn’t respond. I ordered another latte and talked with Naomi a bit more. She punched her number in my phone, telling me that if I was going to be in town for a while, I’d need someone to show me around. 

“My friend Suzu and I would be more than happy to show you around!” she said cheerily. “Just shoot me a message when you’re free and we’ll plan something!”

Surprised, but happy, I sat back down. 

The man with the newspaper was still in the back, and the few other people who had come in had just picked up their orders and left again. Naomi had just stepped into the kitchen to check something when my growing sense of unease became almost unbearable.

I felt Sam’s true name rise to my lips, but swallowed it down. I was being ridiculous. I was still on edge from everything that had happened. It hadn’t even been a week since my grandfather passed, and things just kept coming faster than I could process them. There was no way I could bother Sam with what was doubtless just anxiety over nothing. 

I checked the time and realized it was an hour past the time my aunt was supposed to meet me. I felt like I would have been in the right to be angry, but that creeping anxiety I was feeling pushed out everything else. I sighed and punched the number for the cab company on my phone, ordering a taxi to pick me up. If she was going to be this late, I felt justified in leaving. 

I set my dishes on the counter and yelled a hurried goodbye to Naomi before grabbing my purse from the back of the chair I had been using. 

I gave the man with the newspaper a brief look before leaving. He didn’t even glance at me, just flipped the page of his paper. 

I was being ridiculous. There was nothing wrong. But all the same, once I was out in the fresh air, the feeling started easing off, and I felt a bit better. I glanced around, but the cab was at least ten minutes away. I decided to go for a walk around the block to try and clear my head. It was quiet, but there were still enough people around that I didn’t feel completely alone.

It had been a while since I’d had anxiety issues. Since high school, really. Walking typically helped though.

It must just be a delayed reaction to… well, everything. There was only so much craziness one person could take before cracks started to show.

Four storefronts down from The Pink Lady my heart rate shot right back through the roof as at least four sets of hands grabbed at me, effectively pinning my arms to my sides. One of them covered my mouth before I could make a sound. Shadows wrapped around me and I somehow knew the other people going about their business wouldn’t be able to see what was going on. One of the sets of hands, the ones on my legs, started creeping up higher. I kicked and struggled, adrenaline flooding my system, but whoever these people were, they were strong, and I made no headway. 

Krav maga had saved me a few times. I'd been able to break up a few fights in high school, and on one memorable occasion I'd managed to take down a friend's drunk brother when he wouldn’t leave one of the guys in our group alone. It didn't help me at all now. The hands that gripped me were strong, and they had taken me completely by surprise. I couldn’t see anything beyond the darkness that enveloped me.

Then I heard a familiar voice. “Hey! Don’t dirty up Malix’s prey.”

The woman who had been with Malix the other night. 

She leaned against my back, lips pressing near my ear. “You’re coming with us, Ms. Anderson.”

I made an indignant noise, but the hand on my mouth prevented much sound from escaping.

I couldn’t help the shudder of relief that washed over me as the hands on my skin were replaced with ropes and strips of fabric. It wasn’t better, really, but the hands had felt very bad. The magical darkness was replaced by blindfold darkness and I was tossed bodily into some sort of vehicle. I gnawed at the gag that had been shoved in my mouth, but there was no give to it. Also, it tasted disgusting.

So. The dream had been literal. That was fun. 

I must have gone into shock for a bit, because the next thing I knew I was being cut loose, the blindfold removed to reveal my new surroundings. 

It was a warehouse of some sort. Mostly empty, a few tarps and sheets and disused rusty bits of machinery scattered throughout. And Malix standing in front of me with a shit-eating grin on his face. 

I worked my jaw as the gag was pulled out, trying to get some feeling back into it.

“I’m sure those little shits will come running to find you once they realize you didn’t return to their precious mansion. They’ll search everywhere for you!” 

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, then smirked at him with a confidence I didn’t really feel. Bravado wasn’t necessarily the  _ best _ armour, but when it was the only option available to me I’d take what I could get. Anger and other cocky bullshit continued to always be more useful than panic.

“How’s your face feeling, Malix?” There was a dark purple-red patch on the side of his face that must have been what passed for a bruise on devil skin.

A snarl curled his lip, and he backhanded me. I had enough warning to roll my head with it, lessening the blow without moving my feet. “Shut up! Dumb bitch!”

Turning my head revealed the man who had been sitting in the corner of The Pink Lady standing amongst the other devils gathered around Malix and I. He shimmered slightly, human skin shifting to devil red.

Clearly I’d gotten into the bad habit of ignoring my instincts. Damnit.

I lifted my head to make some sort of stupid retort to Malix, but froze as the cold barrel of his gun pressed against my forehead. 

Francis Sinclair - the man who was my krav maga instructor - he had run my classes through plenty of weapon drills. Knives, bats, and yes, guns. He had also said that the first time you actually fought someone who had a weapon while you were unarmed, all your training went out the window. 

He was right.

All I could focus on was the cold metal against my forehead. This wasn’t like the wood and foam things we used in training. And the man holding it wasn’t my kind yet surprisingly strong instructor. 

Malix was going to kill me, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

“It’ll be hilarious when those pretty boys get here and find your body instead.” 

I barely heard his snarling words over the sound of my heartbeat thundering in my ears. I closed my eyes. 

And nothing happened. I felt the twitch of the gun against my head as Malix pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. 

My knees almost gave out with relief. What was it the boys had said? My grandfather had put protections on me, just like he had the house?

Malix snarled something foul and shot one of the other devils scattered around the warehouse for laughing at him. 

The body dissolved to ash and disappeared fairly quickly, but someone had just died in front of me, which didn’t help the weak-knee situation. 

_ Hey moms. I wanna come home. The mansion? No, the mansion is fine. It’s just that there’s too many demons and devils around, and I just watched a guy die, so I’m kinda not feeling Chicago anymore. How soon can I get to the airport? I’ll let you know once I’m not in the warehouse from the Saw movies. _

I couldn’t really follow what happened for the next minute or so. Malix called the female devil Eris, so at least I had a name to put to her face now. I was too shell shocked to pay any attention to whatever they talked about, my eyes trained on the ashes of the devil Malix had shot. That had almost been me. 

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, pushing the fear down. I could be scared later. Right now, I needed a way out of here.

I thought of the current I had felt beneath my skin while I was reading my grandfather’s journal. Even now I could vaguely feel it. But that didn’t seem… right. I didn’t know how to control whatever that had been, I didn’t know how to direct that energy towards the devils and not myself or whoever happened to be in the area. 

Suddenly I realized I was being a moron. Sam had given me his true name so I could summon him if I was in danger. 

Well, this certainly qualified as danger. 

Eris stepped away from Malix, and when I tried to turn my head to follow where she was going, Malix’s gun pointed at me again. 

I felt fear flow through me again, but I forced myself to lift my chin and return the glare he tried to pin me with. 

“I might not be able to shoot you yet, bitch, but I can do other things to hurt you.”

I lifted my lip in what I hoped was a contemptuous snarl. “He’s gonna tear you apart.”

“Who?” Malix laughed. “One of your pretty boys? Hate to break it to ya, but none of them are gonna get here before your body’s gone cold!”

Fear pulsed through my chest again, and I clutched my hands into fists at my side. Yeah, this was definitely out of my weight class. I should probably stop mouthing off. “Aomaris!” I called. 

There was a brief pause, less than a heartbeat, then white light tinged with purple filled the room, and I instinctively threw my arms over my face to shield myself against the light and blustering winds that suddenly coursed through the warehouse. 

The light faded, and I lowered my arms. I felt an immense rush of relief as I saw Sam standing in front of me. I don’t think I’d seen anyone more pissed off than he was, and that was the only thing that stopped me from rushing to him. In my dream, he had freaked me out. But now that he was in front of me, I just felt safe. Mostly. He was  _ very _ angry. 

“Sam?”

“Don’t worry, I gotcha.” Despite his rage-filled expression, still trained on Malix, his voice was calm, soothing even. I felt the knot of panic in my chest loosen a bit more. 

I was barely able to track the fight that followed. Sam was a blur of anger and violence, but once Malix brought his gun to bear, it didn’t seem so one-sided. 

Eris stepped beside me, watching with amusement in her eyes. Despite everything that had happened, I almost felt a sort of kinship with her. She was enjoying watching Malix get beaten up as much as I was. I could see it in the way her smile widened slightly every time some of the devil’s blood splattered against the wall. 

None of the other devils were joining in either, and I couldn’t help but think Eris herself had something to do with that. Maybe it was the way she had snapped at him the other night. 

I was too focussed on the fight to worry about devil power struggles though. Sam seemed to be tiring, and I was getting worried. 

Then Sam must have tripped on something, because he was suddenly on his knees. 

I couldn’t help the yelp that escaped my lips as Malix shoved his gun in Sam’s mouth. I tried to run to him, to help or do literally anything, but Eris’ hand closing on my shoulder held me in place. 

“Let’s let the boys sort this out, shall we? Your boy toy’s been holding back, trying not to scare you, I think. Let’s see what happens now that he’s got no choice but to go all out.”

I refused to take my eyes off of Sam with the gun in his mouth, but I must have made some sort of noise because Eris chuckled. 

She had been right though. Something about Sam was changing. The very air of the warehouse crackled with power, the air pressure was changing, making my ears pop. 

The space around Sam had started to shimmer green and purple, and his eyes glowed a bright, solid gold. His already impressive muscles began growing, and he bit down on the gun in his mouth, shattering it. Malix didn’t have time to make a sound as Sam launched himself at the devil with a roar that sent an instinctual shudder of fear down my spine.

It was a sound something in my brain hadn’t forgotten, some buried part of my genetics that remembered what it meant to be hunted. It was the sound of every tiger, lion, and bear that had made humanity its prey. 

And it was coming from Sam as he beat Malix’s face with powerful fists. 

He was still changing, some distant part of me noted. Clothes absorbing into his skin, dark green swirling across his torso, something changing the shape of his head- 

Eris’ hand was suddenly gone from my shoulder, and something else was covering my face. Instinctively, I reached up with one hand and shoved my other elbow back, trying to hit whoever was holding me in their gut. I made glancing contact, and the person let out a satisfying grunt, but they didn’t let me go. I was pulling my arm forward, adjusting the angle slightly to try and get a better hit, when they started speaking. 

“It’s me, it’s Damien, don’t look,” he managed to get out.

I paused, slowly lowering my hand from Damien’s hand over my eyes. 

The wet, thudding slams of Sam’s fists connecting with what had to be the shattered remains of Malix’s face kept me from fighting Damien further. 

Each impact was punctuated by a grunt or smaller roar of anger. Maybe Damien was right. Maybe I didn’t want to see.

No, actually. That was bullshit. I definitely wanted to see. But a lot had happened since I left the mansion this morning, and I was willing to trust Damien when he told me not to look. 

“That’s enough, Sam!” 

James’ voice seemed to cut through whatever bloodlust had kept Sam hammering away at what had to be a long-dead body, and the sound of impacts stopped. No one said anything for a few moments, and all that I could hear was Sam gasping for air. It resonated oddly, more than the echoes of the warehouse could account for.

Something about it, about how his gasps for breath sounded, tugged at my heart. I wanted to go to him, comfort him. But Damien kept his hands on my eyes, and I didn’t particularly want to hurt Sam’s brother. More.

Now that my fear had run its course, I started internally berating myself. There were any number of ways I could get out of this, with or without hurting Damien. But they seemed to think I shouldn’t see… whatever Sam had become. Was that something they had decided, or was it what Sam wanted?

Was Sam okay? He had been moving so fast, would I have seen it if he had been hurt?

“Malix is dead, and you’ve lost your glamour spell,” Erik said chidingly to his younger brother. 

“Shut… up…” Sam responded. I knew the resonance and anger in his voice should have scared me, but at some point it had stopped sounding frightening and started just sounding like Sam. 

“What’s a glamour spell?” I murmured. I knew Damien could just read my thoughts, but like we had talked about earlier, that just made him feel more ostracised. I might have been a bit shell shocked, but I didn’t want to be an asshole. 

“It’s what makes us look human.

“And what do you look like without it?”

“Like demons.”

“Thanks. That’s super helpful and not at all infuriating, Damien.”

I was too tired to put much heat behind the words, the adrenaline that had kept me going leaving my system in a rush. 

There was the sound of a cork popping. “Here, this’ll help,” said Matthew. 

Sam just growled. I couldn’t suppress the involuntary shiver of fear that ran through me at the sound. So much for it just sounding like Sam. 

“You’re scaring her.” Damien’s voice was barely a murmur, but Sam bit the growl off. 

“I’m fine,” I snapped. “I’d be doing better if I could see what was going on but apparently I’m not allowed.” I folded my arms. “Just because I’m just a  _ human _ doesn’t mean you guys can treat me like a goddamn child,” I muttered

“C’mon, let’s go,” Matthew cut in, trying to play peacemaker. “You’re out of energy, Sam, let’s go.”

“... Fine. Whatever.”

I heard the sound of Sam drinking something, then a soft breeze swirled through the warehouse. It suddenly felt like a weight I hadn’t even fully been aware of was lifted.

Damien let me go, and I blinked at the sudden reintroduction of light. 

The first thing I noticed was the lack of other devils. They must have cleared out when the other boys arrived. 

“Let’s get you home, Abigail,” James said, watching me with concern. 

I lifted my chin. I didn’t need him, or anyone, to baby me. My eyes slid over what had to have been Malix’s body off to the side. It was covered with a dark sheet of some sort, but the wall was splattered with blood and pieces of other things. The spot where his head should have been looked more like a bowl. It was weird, seeing the shape of the corpse of someone I had talked to. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer man.

I was oddly okay with Sam having killed someone in front of me. It helped that there was no way the human justice system would have done anything to him. Also helped that the guy had been determined to kill  _ me _ .

I took my phone out of the pocket of my dress, happy to see it had survived kidnapping unscathed. My purse, too, was tucked against the wall close to the door. 

After I double checked the contents of my wallet, I let James and Erik lead me away, but I kept trying to catch Sam’s eye. He refused to look at me, his shoulders hunched with something that might have been shame as he stubbornly looked the other way. 

Did he regret saving me? Or was he upset with how angry he had been? Or… well. He  _ had _ just killed someone.

He wouldn’t even look at me, so talking about it was clearly out of the question for the moment.

I sighed and let the boys lead me outside to where a cab was waiting for us. I couldn’t bring myself to object when James’ eyes flared gold as he used his powers on the driver. 

I managed to mostly shake myself out of shock by the time we were standing in the lobby of the mansion. 

“Thanks for the save,” I said, directing the words mostly at Sam, but giving the others grateful looks as well. “And, sorry for elbowing you in the stomach,” I said to Damien. He waved off my apology with a rueful smile. 

“I surprised you. No harm done.”

“No trouble at all,” James replied to my earlier statement when Sam didn’t make a move to respond. 

“Finally, we can relax!” 

“It will be good to have some rest without devils breathing down our necks,” Erik agreed with Matthew. 

Sam finally spoke up, but his words were directed at James rather than me. I tried to suppress the pang of petty disappointment I felt at that.

“Ugh. I’m just tired. Can I hit the hay early?”

I glanced at one of the windows and was surprised to see the sun was starting to set. How long had I been trapped with the devils? Did I really want to know?

“I think some sleep would be good for all of us,” James agreed with Sam. 

I suddenly remembered how this day had started, my eyes widening in sudden fear. “My aunt. She was supposed to meet me at the cafe this morning, she never showed. What if they’ve done something to her?” 

Erik raised a calming hand. “She called the house an hour or so ago, princess. She said her cell phone has been missing since shortly after the party. She couldn’t remember your cell phone number, so she called here instead to leave a message.”

“Apparently she  _ does _ wish to speak with you, but she wasn’t the one that texted you the other night,” Damien continued. “We told her we’d pass on the message and you’d get back to her. She left her home number. We were trying to figure out how to find where you had gone when you summoned Sam.”

I blew out a relieved breath and glanced at Sam, but he was still avoiding looking at me. With the shame I still saw on his face… I was leaning towards the theory that he was ashamed of losing control in front of me. 

But maybe it was something else. Maybe between telling me his true name and my using it to call him he had come to regret giving it to me and he didn’t know how to tell me. 

Whatever. That was a conversation that would keep until tomorrow. I could hear my bed calling my name, and-

And the boys were only staying until Malix was defeated. 

I locked my jaw and pushed it out of my mind, brushing past the boys towards the stairs. “I think,” I said, keeping my tone as neutral as I could. “I’m gonna go to bed. Today has been… a lot.”

“Should we be gone in the morning?”

Ah. So Damien  _ had _ caught some of what I was thinking. Or maybe he had just been thinking it himself. I paused, hand on the railing, one foot on the second step of the marble staircase before turning to face them, considering. Their eyes were on me, waiting for my response.

I was a social person. Being alone was bad for me, let alone being alone in a strange city, in a mansion I wasn’t used to, with no solid ending in sight. The thought of them leaving freaked me out. But they had upended my life, introduced me to a world of supernatural creatures and magic. I didn’t know if that was something I should thank them for. How was I supposed to go back to Alberta, get my paleontology degree, and pretend I didn’t know about… all this? Could I do that? Did I want that? Just forget everything I had learned?

And then there was Sam. It had only been a couple days. I wouldn’t fool myself into thinking I was in love. I didn’t even really know if he felt the same. It was entirely possible that the draw I felt to him was some sort of ability of his. I didn’t think it was, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility. 

And beyond even all that, if they weren’t here, where would they go? I hadn’t seen any evidence of them having jobs. Did they just use their powers to charm their way through life? If I kicked them out, would they end up using their abilities to get into some other person’s house and turn  _ their  _ life upside down?

All these thoughts rattled through my head in a matter of seconds, but they all stilled as Sam took a step towards me. His hands were in his pockets, shoulders hunched, and he still wasn’t quite meeting my eye, but he finally spoke to me. 

“I… um… I… shit. I wanted to thank you for giving me your energy and stuff.”  _ and stuff is right _ I thought mildly, remembering the bruises he had left along my neck. I didn’t tease him though; he looked so uncomfortable. “And I kinda… ugh. I kinda want to stay here. Can we stay here? Please?”

The ‘please’ was so soft, I wasn’t entirely certain I had heard it. But he finally looked at me, and in his eyes I saw something that froze me in place. It was something gentle, and caring, and worried, and fiercely protective. And he was practically begging me to let them stay.

His brothers were watching him in shock. Well, most of them. Damien just had a small, knowing smile on his face. 

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment before looking at them all in turn and smiling. “I’d love it if you guys stayed.”

Tired but enthusiastic cheers came from them all. 

“Same rules as before apply,” I added. They nodded then moved past me, murmuring ‘thank you’s as they passed. I gave them smiles and nods as they walked by, but didn’t move. Sam hadn’t shifted from where he stood.

Finally, when his brothers were out of hearing range, he stepped closer to me, hands still in his pockets.

“Thanks for letting us stay,” he said, glancing shyly up at me before returning his gaze to the floor. 

A smile twitched at my lips. “Of course. Couldn’t let my house servants leave me to care for all of this myself.” He shot me a look, before the half-hearted glare turned into a smile as he realized I was teasing. “Seriously though. I’m happy to have you stay.” I paused. “To have all of you stay,” I corrected. But he had heard it, and his smile widened for a moment before he cleared his throat and looked away from me again, the muscles in his jaw working as he tried to find words for whatever he wanted to say next.

I leaned my hip on the tines of the banister, watching him, waiting for him to sort his thoughts out. Rushing him wouldn’t help anyone.

“Listen,” he started. “About what happened at the warehouse-” 

Ah. This was going to be more of A Conversation than I thought it was going to be.

I held up a hand. “One sec. If we’re gonna talk about stuff, I wanna be comfortable. 

I turned and headed upstairs, and after a moment, he followed me. 

“Wait here,” I told him, slipping into my room. I got changed into a pair of comfy, paint splattered sweats and a cutout muscle shirt, swapping my lacey bra for a sports one. I yanked my hair into a messy bun, then sighed. My makeup was smeared beneath my eyes and across the tops of my cheeks. I snatched a wipe from the bathroom and quickly scrubbed my face. I tossed it in the trash and opened the door again. Sam was leaning against the wall, looking miserable. He opened his mouth to start talking again, but I breezed past him, heading down the hall. 

“Come on,” I said over my shoulder. I heard him grunt in irritation, but he followed me. 

Before he had a chance to say or do anything more than make a surprised noise, I had swung open the same window we had used the other day, hopped up onto the windowsill, and pulled myself up on the roof. The burn in my shoulders made me happy. It had been too long since I had done anything strenuous with my muscles. If I ended up staying here much longer I’d have to invest in a gym membership. Or just keep hauling myself onto the roof, I supposed. Maybe Sam and I could figure out some fun two person activities-

Bad Abigail.

Sam’s head popped up above the edge of the shingles, glaring at me as I scooted over to make room for him. “What the hell was that?! You could’ve slipped, or hurt yourself, or-”

I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, grinning at him. “But I didn’t. You’re just mad I don’t need your help to get up here, city boy.”

He grumbled to himself for a moment before hopping up and settling beside me. 

The sun was almost set, orange light reflecting beautifully off the steel and glass jungle that was Chicago’s distant skyline. We sat in silence, looking at it for a few minutes before Sam started again. 

“I’m sorry.”

“For what? Saving me from a devil who was hellbent - ha, hellbent - on killing me?”

“No, for scaring you.”

I turned my head to watch him as he watched the setting sun. “Should I be scared?”

He looked at me, surprised by the question. “I don’t-”

“Would you hurt me?”

“No!”

The response was instant, loud, and appalled at the suggestion. I smiled at him.

“That’s what I thought. I was definitely caught off guard, and honestly, I  _ was _ a little bit scared. You were very loud. By the end of it I wasn’t really scared of  _ you _ , though.”

“What were you scared of, then?”

I resisted the urge to move over to him and kiss the confused furrow in his brow. 

“I was scared of Malix. I was scared he was going to hurt you.” I turned my attention back to the setting sun, but I felt his eyes still on me. “If you had gotten hurt, or died, while you were protecting me, I- I don’t-”

Sam’s thumb tracing across my cheek was what made me realize I was crying. “Oh shit,” I mumbled. I rubbed my other cheek with my palm. “That’s embarrassing. I’m gonna blame that on leftover shock from being kidnapped and almost shot in the face.” I took a steadying breath, before turning to look at him. “The point is I couldn’t handle that on my own. You came, you saved me like a knight in shining armor. Why should I be scared of you?”

Sam broke our eye contact first, looking down at his hands. He held them loosely, palm up in his lap. “I get… angry, and I lose control. You shouldn’t have had to see that. Back in the Abyssal Plain, they call me a brute."

He flinched a bit when he said 'brute.' It bothered him, a lot, if I was reading him correctly. I felt a sudden surge of protective anger that caught me off guard. 

"Most people were scared of me," Sam continued. "I don't want you to be scared of me, but I got so  _ angry _ when I saw that piece of shit threatening you.” 

His hands clenched into fists, but I reached over and gently slipped my fingers beneath his until I was loosely holding his hand. I waited until he was looking at me, holding his bright green eyes with my own steel grey ones. 

“Sam. I haven’t known you for very long, but I like to think I have a good sense of people. I don’t think you would hurt someone who doesn’t deserve it.” I gave a disdainful sniff. "And the people who called you names clearly didn't know up from down if they thought all you are is an angry 'brute.'" I gave 'brute' a disdainful twist.

He looked at me in surprise for a moment before closing his fingers around my hand and giving me a smile that made my heart stutter. “Still. I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”

I shrugged, enjoying the feeling of his hand around mine. “To be fair, Damien covered my eyes before I could see anything  _ really _ interesting.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “Saw you break that gun with your fucking  _ teeth _ . Your dental plan must be fantastic. Or your chompers are made of titanium. And then I saw you get a couple hits in, then-” I blew a raspberry. “I guess I don’t get to see your demon form, huh? Will my face melt off or something?”

Sam snorted. “No, but it’s something I should show you when I’m not as…”

“Worked up?”

“Yeah. That.” 

"Honestly, I'm sort of glad that's what was bothering you."

"What? You thought it was something else?"

I felt my face flush a bit, and I broke eye contact, playing with the edge of a shingle with the hand that wasn't holding Sam's. "'S kinda dumb. Forget I said anything."

He squeezed my hand. "No," he said simply. "What did you think was bothering me?"

I gave a halfhearted chuckle before looking at him again. "I thought you regretted telling me your name. Or regretted saving me, or just decided you didn't like me, I don't know." I took a deep breath, using my free hand to smooth stray hairs the light breeze had yanked free back into place. "I'm not usually this… insecure," I admitted ruefully. "You've thrown me off my rhythm." 

I wanted to look away, but something in his green eyes kept me watching him. 

He tugged my hand up and nuzzled his cheek against the back of it, not breaking eye contact as he gave me a soft smile. "I don't think I'll ever regret telling you my true name, Abby," he said. And I believed him. 

I felt my face heat, but I didn't break eye contact, just kept watching him as he watched me. 

“Well. The other thing we should probably talk about is the fact that you just killed a guy. Is that something you’re cool with?”

“Huh? Oh, technically yeah, I killed him I guess.”   
He lowered my hand from his cheek as I narrowed my eyes at him. “You caved his face in. What was ‘technical’ about it?”

He shrugged. “In a day or two he’ll show back up in hell.”

I blinked at him for a second. “He’s just gonna respawn?”

“Respawn?”

“It’s a video game- you know what I’ll explain later. He’s just gonna pop back up? Is he gonna come after you guys again?”

Sam shook his head. “Nah. He couldn’t maintain control of his demons here. He’ll probably end up locked in some torture dungeon.”

“Oh.” I didn’t really know how I felt about that. Malix had obviously been a jackass, but being tortured was something different from just being killed outright.

“It’s just how devils work,” Sam said with another shrug. “He didn’t do his job, so he gets punished. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

I snorted. He had echoed my own thoughts back in the warehouse. “I suppose so.”

We lapsed into silence for a bit, watching the orange-lit Chicago skyline. There was still one thing bothering me. I had no guarantee that he’d tell me the truth, but I trusted him, and I needed to ask, just to get it off my chest.

“I am a little bit… concerned about my… reactions to you,” I slowly admitted.

“Huh?” 

I nodded. I wasn’t entirely sure how, or even if, I should say what was bothering me. I wouldn’t be able to be sure about anything until I asked though. I took a deep breath and just went for it. “I just… I know you and your brothers can affect me, change how I feel. Are… are you using your powers to make me feel all warm and fuzzy about you?”

He looked at me for a moment, two different expressions warring for control of his face before a grin broke across his features. “Nope. Our abilities don’t last past the time it takes to drain someone’s energy. Even then we can feed without changing how the person we’re feeding from feels about it. That’s what I did yesterday.”

“Ah.” So all I had just done was let Sam know that I felt some sort of way about him. Excellent. I vaguely hoped he’d think my face was red-tinged because of the sunset. 

He gave my hand a squeeze, drawing my focus back to him. He was still grinning at me. Obnoxious ass. 

“Warm and fuzzies, huh?”

“I  _ will  _ push you off the roof,” I threatened emptily. 

He laughed, and I was struck by how much I liked the sound of it. 

He let go of my hand only to put his arm around my shoulders. I slid closer to him until I was pressed against the warmth of his side and laid my head on his shoulder.

“Oh!” I said suddenly. “I was gonna say something earlier but things just kept happening, and I didn’t get a chance. I can do this now.”

I held my hands in front of me, cupping them like I was gathering water from a stream. I focussed on the current beneath my skin, drawing on the power I had felt yesterday when I was in my grandfather’s study. 

Sam opened his mouth to say something, then paused as a glowing blue mist gathered in my hands, spilling over the sides of my hands and between my fingers like a cloud of dry ice. 

“Huh.”

“Yeah. Huh. Can you guys help me learn to… do stuff with this? I wanted to use it when I was in the warehouse, but honestly I was a bit freaked out that I’d end up blowing up a city block or something.” I pulled the magic back in, shaking my hands a bit to get rid of the lingering sparks of power I felt dancing beneath my skin.

Sam considered for a moment. “I mean- yeah. Magic is more James’ thing. Maybe Erik. But yeah they should be able to help.” 

I nodded, giving him a lopsided grin. “That’d be good. I have no goddamn clue where to start. Magic’s hereditary I guess? Anyway, it hasn’t been an issue before, but now that I know it’s there I can kinda… feel it? It’s a little unsettling.”

“I uh, I don’t know much about magic,” he admitted. “But yeah. We can ask ‘em about it tomorrow.”

I nodded and leaned my head on his shoulder again, and we sat in comfortable silence for a bit, the darkness growing around us. I was about to suggest we head back inside when the stars started popping to life above us. 

“Ooo, I didn’t think we’d be able to see  _ any _ this close to the city.” I hummed appreciatively, head craned back. 

Sam followed my gaze. “You into stars?”

I nodded. “Sort of. Mostly just think they’re pretty. You should see what they look like from the farm. There’s hardly any light pollution there, you can see so many more. The Milky Way is this big band of foggy light. It’s gorgeous. We have this old pickup truck that doesn’t work anymore, we wheeled it out into the field and put a mattress in the bed. It’s a great place to just go chill and stare up at the night sky.”

“Do you know stuff about the constellations?”

“A little bit.”

And that’s how I ended up lying on the roof with my head pillowed on Sam’s chest as I pointed out the bits and pieces of familiar constellations I could see through the city glow of Chicago. I got the impression that it wasn’t his thing, but I appreciated him letting me ramble. It was nice to talk about something normal for once. The knot of anxiety in my chest that had been my omnipresent companion since I found five men bleeding in the lobby of my newly acquired mansion finally started loosening, fading away almost completely.

I barely noticed myself dozing off, but I only managed a token complaint when Sam scooped me up and brought me inside. I thought he kissed my forehead when he tucked me in, but that might have been sleep-brain talking. 

It certainly  _ seemed _ like he was interested in me. He hadn’t actually said anything though, and I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. That was a good way to get my feelings hurt. But that was something for future Abigail to worry about. For now… for now I was happy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i thiiink the next chapter is gonna be the last for this story? i haven't finished the rough draft for it yet, so i'm not sure if i'll be able to get in everything i want to get done, but perhaps. i've got a handful of one shot ideas with abigail though, so there will be a few more things to read in this universe, if you guys are interested in it!

Happy did not last long. 

“You  _ are  _ an interesting creature, aren’t you?”

Almost before I’d opened my eyes, I bolted upright, only for a hand to cover my mouth before I could make a sound.

One day. I wanted to go one day without an earth-shaking revelation or attempted kidnapping. I went eighteen years with a net score of zero attempted kidnapping and roughly six earth-shaking revelations, and now in four days I was hitting  _ minimum  _ one per day.

I couldn't have been asleep for more than four or five hours, and despite the adrenaline my brain was still foggy, taking a moment to register what my eyes were seeing. Standing beside my bed was an absolutely gorgeous woman with long brown hair, wearing a sleeveless black and gold evening gown.

And she had her hand pressed over my mouth. 

“No screaming, silly girl,” she tutted, smirking down at me. I just glared. 

What the everloving hell was happening now? Was this another demon? It had to be, no human would wear a dress like that for an evening of home invasion. 

“Why do the boys like you? You’re unique, yes, but that can’t be all you have going for you,” she mused.

I just glowered at her, running through my options. As the boys had proven when they first showed up, she could probably simply use her abilities to control me if she wanted to. Since she wasn’t, that meant she likely wouldn’t unless I pushed her. Or maybe she was… a different kind of demon and didn’t have those powers? No, that path had too many variables. I’d stick to assuming she was the same kind. A succubus, I supposed. That’s what a female incubus was called, right?

I’d have to go along with her enough that she wouldn’t use her abilities on me, because if that happened, there wouldn’t be  _ anything _ I could do. 

I hated feeling helpless. It was my least favourite thing. If only I knew how to use my magic, I might be able to defend myself. 

I glared at her, letting a snarl of frustration rumble against the palm of her hand.

“Feisty, that might be it,” the woman chuckled. 

I was seriously debating biting her when she removed her hand. 

“Interesting, very interesting,” the woman purred, looking down at me through her lashes. 

I snorted. “Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing in my house?”

She just laughed, which made my blood boil even more. I gripped the covers to help resist my instinct of coming out swinging. The boys were still in the house. They would probably hear me if I yelled. All I had to do was wait until I had an opening and I could probably get their attention. 

I pulled my attention back to the woman as she answered my question. “I forget we demons aren’t well known in the human world. You may call me Diana, little human.”

“Call me little human again and they’ll be pulling my toenails from between your teeth,” I snapped, letting the covers fall away from me as I stood up.

She just laughed again. “Feisty, proud. Yes, I can see why they stuck around now. You do seem reckless though. Too reckless.”

“Why the hell are you here?”

“I just wanted to see who my competition was.”

I blinked. That caught me off guard. “Competition?”

“For the boys, of course,” she replied. “They don’t belong here, and yet here they remain. I’ve come to remedy this little issue.”

I crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes at her. “They’re adults, they can make their own damn decisions about where they ‘belong.’”

“Silly uneducated human. You have no idea how big a role they play in the Abyssal Plain. You keeping them here is practically imprisonment.” She had the most patronizing expression on her face.

“Again, they’re fucking adults. They can do whatever the hell they want.  _ They’re  _ the ones who showed up in  _ my  _ goddamn entryway. I’m not imprisoning shit. Get the hell out of my goddamn house.”

Suddenly my muscles locked up as Diana’s eyes flashed red. My jaw was locked shut, and I was having trouble even breathing. 

“I’m tired of your posturing. You’re going to listen to everything I say without interruptions, got it?”

I just glared at her. As though I had a choice.

She gave a low chuckle. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She stepped forward, touching my cheek with her fingertips. 

Like the first time Sam had kissed me, I felt the pull of something outside myself telling me that I should just give this woman everything she wanted, that it would be easier that way. I fought against that urge with everything I had, but my muscles stayed locked in place. I felt the magic in my veins burning, trying to get out, but not finding any cracks in whatever she was doing to hold me still as she pulled energy from me. 

“I plan to bring the boys back to the Abyssal Plains. Why? So that I can take my place as queen of their realm. They have no reason to remain in this silly little world, so I’m going to make sure they return home, okay pumpkin?”

Queen? She needed the boys to become  _ queen _ ? Were they princes of some kind? No, that wasn’t important right now. I’d deal with that once I wasn’t locked in a weird magic prison.

“Fuck… you,” I managed to growl through my gritted teeth. 

She laughed and leaned in a bit, her lips beside my ear. “Be a good little human and go to bed. Have a nice long sleep. In fact, lie in until noon. I’ll make sure they’re gone by the time you wake up.”

There was power in her words, like she was compelling me to follow her instructions. I was suddenly tired, feeling like the adrenaline was leaving me in a rush. Sleep did sound good right about now…

No. That was wrong. I couldn’t go back to sleep. This woman had invaded my house and was planning on doing  _ something _ to the boys to coerce or drag them back to the Abyssal Plain. Suddenly the exhaustion I felt flowed off me, as though something had broken the spell she had tried to place on me. Weird, but I could work with that. I still didn’t have control of my body, though.

I wasn’t able to fight her as she forced me back into bed, pulling the covers back over myself. I was, however, able to maintain my death glare. When I got out of this, I was going to break her stupid nose and toss her out a window.

“Make sure you don’t tell the boys I was here. I want my visit to be a surprise.”

Suddenly my muscles were mine again, and I bolted upright again. “Why the hell shouldn’t I tell them?”

She tutted reproachfully. “You mustn’t care for your friends and family as much as you care for the boys.”

I froze, sinking further into the too-soft mattress as I recognized the obvious threat. Did she even know anything about my friends and family? Aunt Sylvia was the only person within two thousand kilometres that I would count among that number. Could Diana really get to my moms, my brother, Stefan, any of my friends from school from here?

“Bullshit,” I said, but my voice was uncertain. 

“Let’s just say,” Diana replied with a smirk. “If you tell the boys about me, you’ll be all alone in this little house until the day you die.” As she continued to speak her voice took on that reverberating quality Sam’s had in the warehouse, and a purple and black aura started to surround her. 

As suddenly as it had appeared though, the aura and the echo to her voice vanished as her smirk turned into a smile. 

“Have a good night,” she said in a sing-song voice, a purple pentagram appearing below her feet. She sunk into it with a finger pressed to her lips in the universal ‘shush’ gesture.

The pentagram vanished as her head sunk through it. 

I unplugged my phone from its charger, swinging my legs back out from beneath the covers. I’d seen too many movies that ended badly when the person who had the important information didn’t communicate with the rest of the group. 

I felt a slight twinge of uncertainty about the threat she had made against my friends and family, but…

If I didn’t say anything, nothing would get done about Diana, and she’d be able to hold that threat over my head indefinitely. Also, her last words to me had more implied she would isolate  _ me  _ than do anything to those I cared about. I was more willing to risk myself than them.

The best way to remove a threat was to keep those affected informed, and I’d rather deal with whatever threat she  _ did  _ pose with five demons to back me up than all by myself. 

Also, if I just so happened to think about it while Damien was around, technically,  _ technically _ , I wouldn’t have told them anything.

No. I wouldn’t do that. I’d just had a conversation with him about how he didn’t like it when people relied on his mind reading. 

I made it a few steps down the hall before I realized I wasn’t entirely sure which rooms the boys were in. My exploring the other day hadn’t been overly thorough, and the last thing I wanted to do was knock on every door in the goddamn house.

I glanced at my phone. It was two in the morning. 

I’d feel bad about this later, but at the moment, I was still pissed off that yet  _ another _ supernatural being had made it inside my grandfather’s mansion without invitation.

The line should have been one, yet here we were, eight and counting. 

I opened the app for the house’s speaker system, paired my phone to it, and turned on all the speakers on the second floor. Because I wasn’t outright malicious, I pressed play on the acoustic version of Cross My Heart by Marianas Trench rather than something more obnoxious, keeping the volume at a moderate level. 

As the song started up, I began pacing up and down the west hall, turning the light on so I wasn’t just walking around in the dark.

The song was approaching its end and I was thinking about switching to something harder to ignore when three doors opened one by one, closer to me than I thought they would be. 

“I’m gonna fuckin’ murder-” Sam cut himself off as his eyes met mine, anger turning into confusion.

“What’s going on?” Matthew asked through a yawn. Erik, James, and Damien just looked tired, half stumbling into the hall one by one. 

I paused the music then got straight to the point.

“Do you guys know a woman named Diana? About yay tall, long brown hair, tits out to here?”

I paused and took a deep breath. The boys were staring at me like I’d grown a second head, and I honestly couldn’t blame them. My hair was poofed out around my head in a cloud that would make a mad scientist proud, and I could tell I had a wild look in my eyes.

“Slow down,” James said in a soothing voice. That’s when I realized I was shaking slightly. I grimaced, clenching and unclenching my hands in front of me to try and get it to stop. 

Someone had broken into my house. Your house was supposed to be where you were safe.

“A woman named Diana was in the mansion?” James asked, cutting off my train of thought.

“In my room,” I confirmed. Sam stepped towards me, eyeing me up and down like he was checking for injuries. Part of me wanted to go to him, for him to wrap his arms around me and comfort me. But no, that wouldn’t do. I’d managed to make myself safe for years, I wouldn’t start relying on someone else for that.

“Did she hurt you?” he asked. 

I shook my head, suddenly very aware that I was wearing a very tight tank top without a bra, and very short shorts. Of course, the boys were wearing various v-neck shirts or tank tops, and different types of pyjama pants, so I wasn’t  _ that _ underdressed. 

“What did she want, princess?” Erik asked, his brow knit in confusion.

“She wants to get you back to the Abyssal Plains so she can be queen or something? Honestly, I was really, really angry and she wasn’t making a whole lot of sense.”

Suddenly, all the boys were stock still as realization slid over their faces. 

“So you  _ do  _ know her?”

“She’s come to try and bring us back,” James replied slowly.

“She must be really desperate,” Matthew added. 

“Well, what should we do about it?” Erik asked.

He and the others looked at me like they expected me to have an answer.

I crossed my arms, frowning at them. “Putting that on me is hardly fair. It might be my house, but she’s here after you guys. Oh, she also threatened my family if I told you guys about her.”

“And yet you told us anyway,” Damien murmured, finally speaking up. 

“Well, as much as I’d  _ love  _ to take on a succubus who wants to isolate me from everyone I love by myself, meaning she would have succeeded in isolating me, I thought maybe,  _ perhaps _ , having friends who could help would be better.” I took a deep breath. I didn’t need to be so antagonistic towards them. I was rattled and lashing out unfairly.

“Point taken,” James said with a tight smile. Of all of them, he looked the most worried. 

That was when I really started thinking about what Diana had said. ‘Queen of the Abyssal Plains.’ And she needed the boys to accomplish that. James as the eldest was the most likely candidate for that, assuming demons followed similar traditions to feudal Europe. Why would I assume that though? They hadn’t mentioned anything to me about being some sort of royalty, or the fact that they had a fiancée chasing them across plains of reality.

“I think you guys need to tell me the full story about where you came from.”

“Can it wait until morning?” Erik asked through a yawn. 

“There’s nothing we can do about her until then anyway,” Matthew agreed, also looking exhausted. 

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think it can. Only one of you needs to be there to tell me, I guess, but at this point weird shit keeps happening and I think it’s about time you guys gave me some straight answers. I deserve to know what’s happening, especially now that my friends and family are being threatened.”

I was tired too, but I was so sick of not knowing what the hell was going on. 

James nodded. “That’s understandable, Abigail.” he turned to his brothers. “You all can go back to sleep, I’ll explain things to her.” 

“It would be much easier for me to show her,” Damien replied quietly, stretching his hands towards the ceiling, his back cracking in protest.

James inclined his head in agreement. 

“I’m coming too,” Sam said, taking another step towards me. I gave him a small smile, which he returned. 

Erik sighed. “Well I may as well come too. I don’t want to miss out on the excitement.”

Matthew looked plaintively back at the room he was sharing with Damien before yawning. “Alright, alright. I’m coming too.”

I nodded and turned around, leading the way downstairs and into the living room. It was cozier than you’d expect in a house like this. The matching furniture was plush and chocolate brown, arranged in a semicircle against a big picture window across from an unlit fireplace. I took a seat on the couch closest to the window, pulling my legs up to sit cross legged.

Simon was on the back of the couch, face frozen in a grin as his little glass-like eyes stared blankly across the room. I grabbed him, gently turning him over in my hand and running my thumb across his soft fur.

“I  _ am _ sorry, guys,” I said as they filed in behind me, choosing various seats around the room. “I’m just… I’m tired of not knowing the full story, and someone breaking into my bedroom was kinda the last straw, you know?”

“It’s completely understandable,” James said from his seat in the armchair across the room. 

Sam had chosen to sit on one side of the couch, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. His thigh pushed against my knee for a moment, and he reflexively pulled back. I gave him a smile, which he returned, relaxing a bit, his leg pressing against mine once more. 

Damien grabbed an ottoman, dragging it over until it was in front of me and taking a seat. 

I glanced at Matthew, who had flopped into a loveseat next to Erik, already half asleep again. I held Simon up, wiggling him to catch Matthew’s attention. 

“We’re definitely gonna talk about this at some point. Simon keeps turning up in weird places.”

Matthew recoiled, looking slightly more awake before blinking at me in confusion. “Simon? You named it?”

I arched an eyebrow. “Yeah? I like him, and he keeps showing up places I am, so I took the liberty of naming him. That alright?”

Matthew didn’t answer, eyeing Simon distrustfully. I rolled my eyes and set him on the side table next to me, giving his head a pat. He’d probably be gone by the time we were done whatever it was we were doing. Damien was going to show me something?

“I’ll need to use some of your energy, is that alright?” Damien asked, drawing my attention back to him. 

I nodded, still not entirely sure what was going on.

“I’m going to show you everything, but you have to trust me. The minute you stop trusting me, the vision will stop.” 

I furrowed my brow. “Cryptic but okay. I do trust you, for the record.” 

With a nod from James, Damien put his hands on either side of my head, his thumbs resting just above my eyebrows. 

I was about to make some sort of Charles Xavier joke when I felt Damien start to pull energy from me, and my vision went black. 

I hadn’t been lying when I said I trusted Damien, but I had to fight my shot nerves and my immediate instinct to shove him away from me. After a brief moment, my eyesight started to clear, and shapes began to form out of the darkness. 

I was sitting on a cold marble floor rather than the soft couch, pillars of white stone to either side of me. A little in front of where I was sitting, there was a red carpet leading from a large set of intimidating dark wood double doors up to a high-backed throne raised up a bit on a three-stepped pedestal. The wall that was behind me was made from rough cut stone bricks, but the wall behind the throne was a large, intricate mosaic that looked almost Grecian. 

I stood up, pausing when I caught sight of the pale glow my hands gave off. I looked down at myself, startled to see that I was translucent, more ghost than physical person. 

“Wild,” I muttered, holding my hands in front of me and turning them back and forth. 

A rough, cruel sounding voice suddenly filled the space, and my head snapped towards it. 

“How dare they try to negotiate with me?! Do they not know who they speak to?” 

Materialized in front of the throne was a large man with thick forward sweeping horns coming from his forehead, a deep red cloak draped over his massive shoulders. He had a dangerous aura about him, the threat of violence hanging almost palpable in the air.

I’d known men like him in high school. My grade nine PE teacher had had a similar vibe to him, suppressed rage colouring his every movement, scaring pretty much everyone by just being in the room. I assumed this man couldn’t see me, that I was just a witness to the scene playing out in front of me, and that seemed confirmed when I took a step towards him and he didn’t react.

Almost inconsequential when compared to the first man’s imposing presence, there was a small, imp-like man with little horns and goat legs standing in front of him, the one the first man was speaking to, I realized. 

“My lord, please calm yourself!”

I walked up to the bigger man, looking at him from every angle as he continued his rather animated conversation with the little guy. I tucked away what they were saying about, presumably, Diana to think over later, instead studying the man. 

His voice was harsh and grating, and he didn’t stay still, gesturing wildly as he shouted. The little man flinched every time his arms flailed in his general direction. And yet, there was something familiar in the shape of this cruel man’s nose, in his jawline, in the shape of his angry eyes. 

He had to be the boys’ father. Based on what Diana had said, did that make him the king of the Abyssal Plain? Or a not-insignificant part of it, anyway.

I looked around the room we were in again. It would definitely be at home in a castle, like Sam and Erik had said they were raised in. How had a man as callous as this one clearly was raise the five demons I had come to know?

“Father?”

I turned my attention to the big doors, now partially open, where a small boy no older than seven or eight was standing. He had black hair neatly combed back, and smallish yellow-gold horns sprouting from his forehead. He didn’t have the glasses, but it looked like a much younger James. Instead of clothes, shadows gathered around his torso , dripping down his waist and clinging to his legs. It was a very odd visual, made stranger by the fact that he was a child. His torso and arms were marked with the same yellow-gold colour as his horns, looking almost like he had gone to town with body paint.

“Raestrao,” his father replied. “Have you finished your training?”

Raestrao… that must be James’ true name. He took a few steps farther into the room.

“Yes father.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I want to be with my brothers the rest of the day, father.” 

I took a sudden, surprised step back as the man walked through me and grabbed James by the hair, yanking him off his feet. 

Before I had time to register what I was doing, I’d sprung forward, one hand closing around his wrist the other going to support James’ weight. Or, I would have if I were tangible. As it was my hands passed through both people to absolutely no effect. 

I cursed softly under my breath, glaring at the boys’ father like it was his fault I had forgotten I was just a hapless observer.

James didn’t seem at all surprised by this turn of events, which just hardened my resolve to punch this asshole in the face if I ever had the displeasure of meeting him in real life. 

“Huh… arrogance. Why should I allow you to be with them? I should kill  _ you _ for your lack of respect to  _ me _ .”

I was going to get James to teach me how to use my magic to behead a man. That’s what was going to happen. 

“Because I want to be with them, father,” James replied steadily.

I couldn’t resist taking another swipe at his father, a halfhearted kick directed at his shins. Obviously it didn’t do anything, but it made me feel a bit better. 

If this was the father figure the boys were raised with, it was impressive they weren’t  _ more _ poorly adjusted than they were. 

Surprisingly, James’ father laughed in response, dropping the boy to the floor. 

“Good! assertive even in the face of danger, this is why you are my favourite son. Very well. Go. Tomorrow you will show me your training.”

James’ face broke into a grin that hurt my heart as he turned and ran out of the room. The boys’ father was speaking to the other man about considering the marriage proposal, but all I could think was that the little boy James had been deserved so much better. 

Presumably the others too. If James was his favourite, and he still treated him like that, what did the other boys go through?

I turned around in time to see the small man scamper off, and the boys’ father disappear in what I could only describe as a Star Trek beam-up light show.

“I’m gonna show you some movies, Damien. You can learn more fun transitions. I’m a fan of the star wipe for sheer ridiculousness.”

Damien didn’t respond. Maybe he couldn’t hear me while he was showing me all this?

“Raestrao, you’ve always got your nose stuck in those books. Will you not lift your head up from them once in a while?”

I turned back towards the door, seeing an older James walking in, indeed reading a book. There was another boy, about the same age, leaning on a pillar near the door. This one was red to James’ yellow-gold, and he had horns that swept back and curled around almost like a rams would. This new boy’s body markings were more intricate, making an almost heart-shaped swirl on his chest.

James had been immediately recognizable, but it took me a moment to realize this new boy was a younger Erik. He looked… happier. The sparkle of amusement in his eyes looked more at home. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be with your mother practicing the harpsichord?” James asked, arching an eyebrow at his brother. 

“I am,” Erik nodded. “But I had a feeling you were in danger.”

As someone who had a younger sibling, I recognized the mischief in Erik’s expression, but James seemed oblivious to it. 

I glanced around and caught sight of slight movement behind one of the pillars on the other side of the room. I grinned.

“In danger? What are you-?”

James’ question was cut off by three other boys bursting from behind their cover and dog piling on him, one yanking the book out of his hands with a laugh. 

It took a second for my eyes to make sense of the tangled pile of limbs and laughter, but I liked seeing them happy. 

Damien was the most immediately recognizable with his bright orange hair, and the tightly curled black horns jutting from the sides of his head were super cute. Matthew’s horns looked like more traditional demon horns, spiking up out of his forehead. The blue of his markings was a good colour on him too. That meant the last one was Sam. 

Even as a kid he looked stronger than his brothers, and his brown hair was more unruly than theirs was. Like the rest of them, his horns didn’t look fully formed, but they were the widest of them all, spiking out and up from just behind his temples. The green of his marks had nothing on the brightness of his eyes, but they had a cool-looking pattern to them.

It was super interesting, seeing them as kids. They were going back and forth, teasing James about his books and how busy he was. They were super cute, and despite how inhuman they looked, their interactions were so in line with how my brother and I behaved with one another that it made me smile. 

Their fun was interrupted by their father. 

“What is going on here?!”

All of them deflated, and Damien immediately hid behind Sam. Yup. Gonna plot this man’s rather violent death. 

“Nothing is going on,” James said, stepping between his brothers and their father. “We just passed by each other.”

“Then why does your brother have your book?”

I grit my teeth as James talked their way out of whatever punishment their father would have placed on them, and he went his way while their father went his. He snarled at Sam and Damien as he went. Sam didn’t give an inch, defiance in his posture. I almost didn’t see the fear in his eyes. 

Who could blame him for being scared? Their father was an imposing man, and he clearly wasn’t afraid of hurting his sons. 

Damien revealed to them that their father was on his way to negotiate a marriage arrangement for one of them, and they debated which one of them it would be. 

At this point I’d heard all but Erik’s true names. If it had been an issue, I assumed Damien would have redacted them somehow, but it still felt a bit… intrusive to find out something so important to them this way. 

The boys disappeared in their own individual smoke clouds, colour coded to their markings. Maybe Damien  _ was _ listening to my quips about his editing style. 

The next thing he showed me was himself and Matthew sitting on the floor in the middle of the room and talking about coming to the human world.

Horns and swirling marks aside, they looked a lot like they did now that I knew them.

“Do you think we should?” Matthew was asking.

“I really want to,” Damien said wistfully. 

I moved and sat next to them, looking from one to the other as they continued to talk.

“I want to as well. Still, it’ll be hard to convince Raestrao since he’s the one about to be married, and he’s the favourite.”

So it  _ was _ James who Diana was arranged to marry. 

“We don’t know that, Zecaeru. Maybe she’s set to marry  _ you _ ,” Damien teased. 

“No way!” Matthew replied, looking appalled at the suggestion. “I don’t wanna get married!”

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that baby face of yours.”

I twisted at the sound of the familiar voice. This must be what Sam had looked like in the warehouse; more muscled than he was in his human form, with big handlebar-like horns jutting from his head and dark green markings on his chest and neck that vaguely reminded me of talons. 

It wasn’t a half bad look for him.

Sam folded his arms, standing in front of the three of us. “What’re you two talking about?”

“We… got into contact with the human world again.”

“Come on Izroul, you give humans too much attention.”

“No way!” Matthew jumped to Damien’s defence. “You gotta listen! They apparently have stores and books and schools and stuff!” 

Matthew and Damien’s enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself smiling at them. 

Then Sam scoffed. “So what? It’s full of humans who piss on each other for no reason. They’re no better than the devilspawn.”

My brow knit as I frowned up at him. “Oh, is that right?” I muttered. I never got the impression that Sam didn’t like humans.  _ Especially _ not either time we had been on the roof. 

“Nuh-uh! The one we were talking to wasn’t like that.”

I set aside Sam’s issues with humans, whatever they were, to think about this mystery person who had helped them get to the human realm.

I had no clue how long they’d been here, and before now they hadn’t mentioned anything about how they made the transition from Abyssal to Human Plain. I guessed they did magic of some sort on their end, and whoever helped them did the same or similar thing on this side, making some sort of bridge or tunnel between the realms. 

I kept turning the problem over in my mind as James and Erik arrived in turn. I got up off the floor and stepped to the side, feeling a bit awkward about being in the middle of that discussion. Like he had told me before, Sam was the only one who didn’t want to go. 

I stood in front of Sam, looking up at him as he glared exasperatedly around at his brothers. 

_ Humans who piss on each other for no reason.  _ I mean okay. He wasn’t necessarily  _ wrong. _ We were definitely exceptionally cruel to one another. It just didn’t seem like something I’d thought Sam would say. 

“A simple spell  _ should _ work,” Erik was saying. “But it would require someone from the human world to help us get there.”

“We can ask him!”

“He’d definitely help us!”

James waffled back and forth for a little bit before Sam practically stomped his foot and threatened to drag him with them.

I supposed he’d seen the writing on the wall and realized if he didn’t go he’d likely be left behind. Even if James wasn’t sure, it was clear that he wanted to go, and he’d be miserable if he stayed. 

And who was this man they were in contact with? It would be too coincidental if it had been my grandfather… wouldn’t it? 

Whoever helped them presumably would’ve had to have a lot of magical ability and likely resources to help the boys. Sam didn’t say how long they’d been traveling, but I highly doubted they’d brought money from here to finance their journey through the human world. I guessed they could have used their abilities, but I remembered how James had objected to Sam using his powers on me on Friday, and I wasn’t sure. 

The scene faded to black as James agreed to go, and I slowly peeled my eyes open, blinking in the living room lights. 

Damien took his hands off my head, and he and the others were watching me concernedly. 

“Huh,” was all I could muster as a wave of exhaustion hit me. 

“So you now know who we are,” James said from where he was seated.

“You’re the one Diana was supposed to marry,” I said slowly. It felt like I was thinking through molasses. 

He nodded. 

“Not anymore,” Sam interrupted. “As soon as we left, the arrangement was broken.”

“If Diana is here looking for us, that means she’s trying to save her kingdom from being attacked,” Erik pointed out. 

I frowned. That honestly hadn’t occurred to me. Obviously their… father would go straight to attacking Diana’s kingdom if the arranged marriage fell through. He just seemed like that kind of guy.

“So you father is a… tyrannical despot in the Abyssal Plain. Of the  _ whole _ Abyssal Plain?”

“Most of it,” Matthew agreed through a yawn. 

I was going to ask something else, but I suddenly lost my balance and pitched to the left. It was embarrassing, really. I’d just been sitting there, then I tipped to the side, knocking into Sam’s shoulder.

“I took too much!” Damien exclaimed, half-reaching for me. “I’m so sorry.”

I shook my head, waving off his apology, barely noticing as Sam scooped me off the couch to hold me against his chest. 

“S’okay. I’m glad I know. I definitely wanna talk about… everything. Tomorrow though.”

“Of course,” James agreed. 

I was fading fast but still somewhat conscious when Sam pressed his lips to my forehead, only for his brothers to snicker at him. 

A wordless growl shook Sam’s chest, but cut off in surprise when I held up a middle finger.

“I know I’m the reason we’re all awake so I have no grounds to be pissy about how tired I am, but save the sibling teasing for the morning, alright?”

I vaguely heard some muttered apologies, but closed my eyes and let myself pass out. Despite how I had been woken up, how having someone breaking into my house had shaken me, I felt safe in Sam’s arms. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> time is meaningless. i could have sworn i updated this last week. but it's been a month. my bad
> 
> this isn't the last chapter. i'm gonna stop guess about which one will be the last when i don't have them written because my brain goes a bit nuts when i edit and i end up adding pages of extra stuff
> 
> i'm going back to work next week after being furloughed for five months, so there's gonna be an adjustment period while i get used to juggling work and writing again, but i'm planning on keeping this going for a bit. i keep having more ideas for one shots. lord help me from an overactive imagination. 
> 
> if anyone has a specific scenario they'd like to see abby/sam/the rest of the boys get up to, leave suggestions in the comments or message me on tumblr. i can't promise i'll do 'em, and i've got quite a few things already in the works, but if it strikes my fancy i might give it a whirl (with credit of course)

The sky was bright blue when I woke up, morning light slanting through the window. I rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand. Nine in the morning. Definitely a nice lie-in.

Everything from the other night came back in a rush. Malix was gone, but now there was something else the boys had brought to my door. 

I didn’t blame them, really. Their father seemed like an abusive jackass, and I could hardly hold them responsible for Diana’s actions. 

The fact remained that she had threatened my family, and even if her ability to follow through on that was doubtful, I wasn’t comfortable taking risks. I’d ask James and Erik to teach me about magic today, I decided. 

If the last few days had taught me anything, it was that I  _ hated _ being helpless more than I thought I did. 

Honestly, I had no way to know exactly what the situation was in the Abyssal Plain. Maybe their father was shitty and abusive to them, but was a decent ruler. I highly doubted it, but it was technically possible. 

Assuming he was a real all around piece of shit though, did they have a moral obligation to do something about it? Was it irresponsible for them to leave their home while their father was tearing it apart?

Maybe it was. 

But their father’s actions were his. He was abusing them. They got away. I couldn’t fault them for getting out when they had the chance. I just hoped they wouldn’t come to regret the people that got hurt by them leaving their world in their father’s hands. 

I yawned, stretching as I lay there, but paused when I heard a weird noise. 

It was an odd muffled snorting sound. Was someone snoring?

I sat up and looked around the room, but the source of the noise wasn’t there with me. It came again, and now that I was listening for it, I realized it was coming from the direction of the door.

I swung my legs off the edge of the bed, still shaking off the last cobwebs of sleep as I made my way to the door. I carefully pulled it open an inch, then a bit more when I couldn’t immediately see the source of the sound. 

It was indeed snoring. 

Sitting with his back to the wall, arms folded across his chest, head slumped uncomfortably forward, was Sam. 

I leaned my shoulder on the doorframe, crossed my own arms, and watched him for a moment. 

When he was asleep, the tension he carried in his shoulders was lessened and his face looked… softer somehow. 

I wasn’t really prepared for the way my heart stuttered as I looked at him, or the way my throat closed up a bit at the way his mouth moved as he snored. I thumped my head back on the doorframe and closed my eyes. 

_ Get it  _ together _ , Abigail, _ I told myself.  _ You’ve known this guy since Friday. Just a little over three days. Stop thinking about what it would be like to wake up to his face every day. That’s crazy. _

I opened my eyes again and went back into the bedroom, taking care of business in the bathroom and brushing my teeth. 

I caught myself looking at my reflection in the mirror, frowning at my bedhead and flushed skin, and snorted in self-mockery when I realized I’d been considering going for my makeup bag before waking Sam up. Ridiculous.

I headed back to the hall and gently nudged Sam’s side with my foot. 

He blearily blinked awake, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

“Mornin’,” he grumbled. 

“Morning,” I agreed. 

He stayed on the ground for a moment, looking up at me, something uncertain and apologetic in his eyes. “You sleep okay?”

I held a hand out to him to help him up, which he took after a brief moment of hesitation. 

“I’m not gonna have a conversation with you while you’re sitting on the ground out here. Why are you on the floor, anyway?”

He adjusted his grip on my hand so our fingers were intertwined. “I didn’t wanna risk Diana coming back and hurting you,” he said. He reached up absently and pushed a stray curl out of my face and behind my ear. “And it seemed… I dunno. Kinda weird to just sit in there while you were sleeping.”

I shrugged, but nodded, barely managing to stop myself from leaning into his hand. If I had woken up to him sitting in the chair beside the bed I… I probably wouldn’t have minded it too much. Despite it being objectively pretty weird, it had just been that kind of week. It was also pretty sweet that he'd considered my feelings about it. And as much as I wanted to tell him I didn’t need him to protect me from Diana, I quite obviously did. 

That chafed a bit. 

“That would be a little weird, yeah,” I agreed. “Still, as much as I appreciate the sentiment, you could’ve at least brought a chair over. Or like, a pillow.”

He shrugged one shoulder, a self-conscious smile twisting his lips. “I didn’t-”

I tugged him back into my room, letting his hand go to gesture him towards the chair by the window while I sat cross-legged on the bed. He pulled it over, turning it so it was facing the bed and sat down.

I wasn’t ready to go downstairs and face the day yet, but having Sam in the room with me made me feel better. 

I closed my eyes and yawned, my back cracking as I stretched, then I rubbed my eyes, trying to shake the headache that clogged my brain while I searched for something to say. 

“I’m such an idiot,” Sam muttered, cutting off my internal fumbling for a topic. “If I was stronger, you wouldn’t be like this.”

My eyes snapped open. 

“What are you talking about? This isn’t your-”

“No, it  _ is  _ my-  _ our _ fault. If we hadn’t come here, you wouldn’t be in danger. Your family wouldn’t be in danger. We shouldn’t have come. Because of us, you’ve passed out  _ how  _ many times in the last few days? If I’d been stronger I could have-”

“I’m gonna stop you  _ right  _ there,” I interrupted, glaring at him. He looked startled, but he shut his jaw with a click. “I’ll admit that I’m in a bit over my head with the magic, and demons, and devils. I appreciate the save yesterday. But when magic isn’t involved I’m  _ perfectly  _ capable of making myself safe. Besides, I made the  _ choice _ to let you guys stay. I  _ chose  _ to let you move in, I  _ chose  _ to go up on the roof with you. Other people being shitty isn’t on you and your brothers, and even if it was, I would have equal blame in this.” He looked like he wanted to interrupt, but I shook my head and plowed on. 

“The passing out thing  _ is  _ annoying. I won’t lie about that. But besides that first night, I was a willing participant in the things that led to me passing out. That said, if this-” I gestured first to him then to myself. “- whatever it is - is going to continue, it’s something we’ll have to work on, but I can hardly blame you and your brother’s for something that’s a side effect of what you are.”

I leaned forward a bit, reaching out and taking his hand. 

“Sam, trust me. I’m right where I want to be.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he gave me a smile and squeezed my hand. I returned the smile for a moment before it widened into a grin. 

“So. You’re a prince, huh?”

He grimaced. “Not anymore. We left that behind.”

“Yeah, your dad seemed like a piece of shit.”

“You can say that again,” he said with a snort.

“Yeah, your dad seemed like a piece of shit,” I chirped. It took Sam a moment to realize I took him literally for a joke, then he took a playful swipe at me. I ducked it, giving him a shit-eating grin. 

“Seriously though, what was it like?” I asked. “I am but a simple farm girl, I cannot dream of what it must be like to be a cosmopolitan member of a royal family.”

Sam rolled his eyes, and I blinked innocently at him.

“Boring.” He said, realizing I wasn’t going to give up. “Erik, Matthew, and me were only born in case James fucked up. With what a goody-two-shoes he is, and with Erik being older than me, There was no way I had a shot at the throne. So, I just dicked around and did whatever I wanted. I didn’t even listen to my mom.”

I arched an eyebrow. 

“Your mom?”

He gave a dry chuckle, rubbing his thumb in absentminded circles on the back of my hand. “Yeah. She was… she’s not an asshole like our dad. She’s caring and kind, but a bit of a pushover.”

“Yeah?” I chuckled, pushing for more information.

I liked Sam. I liked him a lot. But beyond the demon thing and a few base personality traits, I didn’t know much about him, and that was starting to bug me. 

“She always believed in me,” he said, looking down at our interlocked hands with a fond smile. “My dad made sure I knew my place, but she thought I could be more than I was. To piss off my dad, I hung out with the commoner demons, rebelling every chance I got. I’m kinda surprised he didn’t kill me out of shame.”

It seemed like he genuinely believed that, that his father would have killed him. I frowned. “I mean I definitely picked up on the fact that he’s a bastard, but if he really would have killed you for having friends he didn’t approve of… that’s pretty damn awful.”

He looked back up to me, eyes widening in surprise. Was he startled that I was defending him?

Before I could mull it over or ask him, he dropped my hand and reached up to tuck my hair behind my ear again. I would have told him that it was futile to try and tame my hair without massive amounts of product and pins, but I found the gesture sweet. 

Also, the feeling of his fingertips brushing my temple short-circuited my brain.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, hand lowering to cradle my face. “You look like you need more sleep, not a history lesson on the demon world.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve slept long enough. Besides, I want to know more about you.”

The surprised look was back on his face. 

“What?” I laughed, leaning into his hand still on my cheek. “Is me wanting to know about your life that startling?”

He shook his head, running his thumb across my cheek as his expression softened. “I just- no one’s ever really-” He cut himself off with a sigh before reaching up and unhooking the catch on his dog tags. He slid the one on the smaller loop off, letting it fall into his lap.

He held both ends of the necklace towards me in a wordless question. 

Hesitantly, I nodded, pulling my hair out of the way and leaning forward so he could hook it around my neck. I had no clue what he was doing, but I trusted him. 

“I warned you, my past is boring.”

I rolled my eyes, but didn’t say anything as his fingers trailed lightly across my chest before picking up the dog tag. 

I gave a surprised breath as green mist trailed from his hand, wrapping first around the tag then creeping up the chain and around my neck. Sam gave me a smile, and I felt myself relax a bit at the reassurance.

Quickly, my head was wrapped in the green mist, and all I could see was a bright green light. 

The fog cleared after a moment, and I was back in the opulent throne room, halfway between the doors and the throne but off to the side, with a good view of the whole space. 

This time, my feet seemed rooted to the floor, which was a bit disconcerting.

I didn’t have any time to dwell on it, however, as a high-pitched voice rang from the open doors. 

“Bring that back!”

Sam barreled into the room, a large basket of what looked like bread held beneath one arm. He looked much the same as he was now, maybe a little bit younger. 

“No chance in hell, creepo!” he yelled.

Before whoever was chasing him could respond, Sam stomped his foot on the ground, and a large chunk of floor leapt out, leaving a crater in the marble. With a kick, Sam sent it hurtling towards the door. My hair whipped around in the breeze created by its passing, but rather than obliterate the wall, it skidded to a stop, neatly blocking the entrance. 

“What is this, the Loony Toons?” I muttered. 

I felt Sam’s, present Sam’s, amusement echo in my head. It was an odd sensation, knowing that he found what I said funny but not being able to see him. Was his magic that much different from Damien’s? I hadn’t gotten anything like this from him when he was showing me their past. I turned my attention back to what Sam was showing me.

Past Sam nodded in satisfaction at his work blocking the door before turning and walking towards the throne. He grabbed a roll from the basket and tore a chunk from it with his teeth, chewing as he walked. 

What  _ was _ he doing with a basket of bread, anyway? Presumably his father wasn’t so shitty as to starve his sons, couldn’t he get food whenever he wanted? Why would he steal a basket of bread? Was he just being rebellious for the sake of being rebellious?

“Stupid fucking piece of shit parent,” I heard him mutter through a half-chewed mouthful of bread as he glared at the throne.

“At least you  _ have  _ your folks.” 

If I hadn’t been rooted to the ground I would have jumped. From one of the pillars behind and to the left of me, another demon stepped out. 

He looked quite different from Sam and his brothers, with large, bat-like black wings, red streaked black hair, and an unbuttoned tan trenchcoat revealing a lean shirtless torso. If I felt like revealing I’d had a decently big Supernatural phase, I’d have said he looked like a stripper Cas. But I didn’t feel like revealing that so I wouldn’t make that comparison.

Sam just smirked at the new arrival and tossed him the basket of bread. 

“Think that’s enough for you and your brother?”

The other demon caught it, managing to prevent the loaves from falling out before closing the distance between them. 

“More than enough, this means a lot, man,” he replied, thankfulness plain on his face. 

Sam snorted. “Don’t mention it, Gaku.”

Gaku held out his hand, and Sam shook it with a grin. 

“We owe you for this.”

“You don’t owe me jack shit,” Sam replied scornfully. “Now get going before you get caught.”

Gaku nodded, but he paused, taking a moment to pull a familiar set of dog tags from the pocket of his trenchcoat. 

“What is this?” Sam asked suspiciously as Gaku held them out to him. 

“A gift,” Gaku said. Sam tentatively took them. “They’re a trinket from the human world. I know you and your brothers have been interested in it. Maybe these will bring you closer.”

With a final wave, Gaku launched himself towards an open window at the top left side of the hall. Sam watched him leave for a moment before returning his attention to the dog tags in his hand. 

“The human world,” he muttered. He sounded almost scornful, but his expression betrayed the wistfulness he felt. “Like I can get any closer.”

Did he want to come here more than he let on? Maybe he just wanted to get away from his father, and the human world was the most convenient way to do that. Not to mention that his brothers wanted to come here anyway.

My attention was pulled back to Sam as his hand and the dog tags were surrounded by the green mist of his magic, and he tossed it into the air. The tags and the magic winked away, and the magic thrumming beneath my skin gave me the sense that he had tucked them away in some sort of inter-dimensional pocket. 

I frowned to myself, a little unsettled that I instinctively knew what he had done. But I was distracted as a glowing green orb about two feet across appeared, coming from a small doorway in the wall to the right of the throne.

Sam didn’t turn, didn’t look at the orb, but his shoulders stiffened. 

“What do you want, mom?”

His mom… was a disembodied glowing orb?

She didn’t make any sound that I could hear, but Sam’s head snapped around and he glared at the green sphere. 

“Yes, I stole that bread and gave it to the commoner alright? Don’t judge me.” 

Once again I couldn’t hear her response, but Sam’s glare turned on a wall, and his jaw clicked shut, teeth grinding in irritation. 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

His mom floated over to him, gently brushing his cheek. If I hadn’t been fairly familiar with his face at this point, I would have missed the way Sam’s eyes softened at the gesture. She pulled away from her son and seemed to dissipate into the air. 

Sam frowned at the space she disappeared into for a moment before turning away and rolling his shoulders before heading back towards the blocked door. 

“I need to get out of here,” I heard him mutter before the throne room started to swim and dissolve around me, the bedroom coming back into view. 

I blinked, readjusting to my surroundings as Sam’s hand fell away from the dog tag. I had to stop myself from pouting as the skin of the back of his hand left my chest. That was mature of me. 

“What did I tell you?” he asked rhetorically. “Boring.”

I lifted a hand, touching the dog tag still around my neck. “I don’t know how to tell you that helping someone who needs it is far from boring. I think Gaku would agree.”

He rolled his eyes. “I was just breaking the rules. We weren’t supposed to help common demons, just let them die if they couldn’t take care of themselves.” He sighed, looking down at the ground. “Whatever. I’m not there anymore. I’m here.” 

I reached out and took his hand, pulling his attention to me. “Hey, you can’t take responsibility for the people your father hurts. You did what you could while you were there, then you and your brothers got out of a bad situation when you could. As much as staging a coup and rebuilding a system of government from the ground up for the betterment of society would be nice, I don’t think it’s shameful to recognize that you and your brothers aren’t the best people to do that.”

He gave me a faint smile, which I returned before moving my hands beneath my hair to take the dog tag off. 

“Keep it,” Sam said suddenly, grabbing the secondary tag from his lap, the one with the short chain.

I arched an eyebrow. “I don’t wanna steal your signature style.”

He closed his hand around the other tag, chain and all, and that green mist surrounded it. When he opened his hand, the chain had lengthened until it was a bit longer. Not long enough for his neck, I noted quizzically. 

He moved to do the chain up around his wrist. 

“Noooope,” I said, catching his arm. “Nope nope nope. I know fashion isn’t something you value but-”

“Wait, how do you know-”

“Sam, I have eyes and I see how you dress. That’s fine, I can work with that. I  _ do _ draw the line at ‘wearing dog tag on wrist.’”

“What’s wrong with-” He clicked his jaw shut when I just gave him a look. 

He closed the chain in his hand again and there was another burst of magic, and he did it up around his neck. 

I gave him a grin. “There we go. Matching necklaces. It’s so adorable I may barf.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “If it’s gonna make you barf I’ll take it back.”

“Over my dead body,” I replied, grabbing the dog tag in a tight, white-knuckled grip. 

He snorted, amusement in his eyes. 

“Look,” he said. “Just don’t tell my brothers. I have a reputation to maintain.”

“Can’t have the siblings knowing you're a good person,” I replied, rolling my eyes. He opened his mouth to argue further, but I waved his objections off. “I get it. My lips are sealed. I think it’s a moot point though, they already know you’re a good person.”

He arched an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“When your father got angry at all of you, I watched you step in front of Damien like it was second nature. I’m willing to bet you did that pretty often, stood up for him?” Sam opened his mouth to argue, but clicked it shut, averting his eyes with an expression on his face I couldn’t interpret. Some mix of anger and shame maybe?

“The point is,” I pushed on. “You care about other people, and that’s a good thing. But I’m not gonna go singing your praises around if you don’t want me to.” I smirked. “But I know you’re a good guy, so you can’t pull that shit on me. I’m wise to your tricks. I wonder what other surprises you have up your torn off sleeves?”

He gave me a smile that I think I was supposed to read as smug, but I saw the softness in it. 

“You planning on keeping me around long enough to find out?”

I snorted, turning to face the wall to hide the blush I felt on my cheeks. “We’ll have to see, won’t we?”

He carefully put a hand on my warm cheek, gently turning my face back towards him. He had a soft look in his eyes and an adorable, slightly crooked smile on his lips, his own face tinged pink in the sunlight slanting in through the window. 

“Glad to hear it.”

He leaned forward, coming out of the chair and bending awkwardly to kiss me, the hand not occupied holding my face pressing into the bed to keep his balance. 

I was the first to pull away, pressing my forehead to his with a smile. 

“You know what dog tags are for?” I asked, giving him a slight push with my head that was just enough to unbalance him and send him back into the chair with an ‘oof’. 

He gave me a bit of a glare, but there was no heat behind it. “Something about the human military?” 

I nodded, running my thumb around the edge of the tag around my neck. “If someone dies in combat but they can’t move the body to send it home for proper burial, they take the one on the small chain off. It’s used as confirmation that the person is dead, and the one on the bigger chain is left on the body so if someone else comes by who has the resources to move the body can still identify who it is.” I looked at the one around my neck, frowning at it. It was embossed with the name ‘Christopher Grand’ followed by a number that probably had something to do with his unit number. Below that was an address in Nevada. 

The tag itself was discoloured, scuffed and worn out. It looked pretty old. 

“When we first came here, we went to the address,” Sam said. “He didn’t live there anymore, but we managed to track him down. He was in a nursing home, didn’t want them back. He said his time in the military was the worst time of his life and he didn’t want to remember it. Apparently he dropped them off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. I have no clue how Gaku found them.”

I nodded, feeling a bit better about keeping it. “It does feel a bit weird to have some random guy’s information around my neck, but I… it came from you, so I wanna keep it.”

“I can put something else on it, or make it blank?” Sam offered. 

I paused for a moment. “I’ll think about it,” I told him with a smile. My smile faltered though as I considered my next question.

“There’s not really a good way for me to ask this,” I started slowly. Sam’s eyebrows knit in confusion. “Your mom… what happened to her? I assume she wasn’t always a ball of nondescript energy?”

Sam frowned, looking away at the wall again. “Well. I told you we all have different moms, right?” I nodded as he glanced back at me. “Succubi don’t really… they don’t typically share well? My mom was technically the most powerful of his wives. She’s part- it doesn’t really matter. The point is our dad had no interest in raising us, but didn’t trust any lower demons to do it either, so our moms were in charge of raising us. When he… when Damien’s mom gave birth to him out of wedlock, the other wives went a little bit nuts?” He winced as he said this. “I was too young to remember most of it, but apparently it was pretty bad. In order to keep them around but not have to deal with a bloodbath in the palace every day, our dad cursed them. He took away their physical form and most of their power.” His expression was dark, his shoulders and hands shaking a bit with the rage I could clearly see in his eyes. 

I stood up and nudged him a bit, forcing him to sit up more, and I sat myself in his lap, taking his hands in mine, closed my eyes, and nuzzled my head against the underside of his jaw. There was way too much to unpack while I was still only twenty or so minutes out from waking up, but I could offer him physical comfort.

He seemed to appreciate it, readjusting his arms to wrap around me and pull me tighter to him. We sat like that for a moment until he calmed down a bit, the tremors subsiding. 

“That way they could raise us but not be a threat to each other,” he continued. I nodded, trying to encourage him to keep talking without interrupting the flow of his thought process. “It… worked I suppose. My mom kept to herself more than any of the others, and she rarely telepathically spoke to anyone but me or our dad.”

“Is that why I couldn’t hear her?” I asked softly.

He paused, seeming surprised. “You couldn’t hear her? I thought you’d be able to. It was my memory and I definitely heard her.”

I shook my head.

“Huh. Yeah, I guess that’s why. I don’t really know how this stuff works.”

I laughed, taking the subject change and running with it to try and lighten the mood. “And there’s that. You said you were no good with magic, buster.”

“I’m really not,” he said bashfully. I still had my eyes closed so I couldn’t see his face, but I could imagine the blush on his cheeks. “Erik and James’ll be better teachers.”

I hummed noncommittally, then opened my eyes, sitting up and pressing a kiss to the corner of his jaw.

“I need to have a shower, then I’ll be down for breakfast. You gonna burn some more toast for me?”

His face heated again, but his eyebrows slanted in with irritation. 

“I did the best-”

I leaned forward and kissed him again. “And I loved it.”

He didn’t seem to know what to say to that. I kissed his chin then patted his cheek.

“Out you go. I need to get dressed, and I’m sure your brothers would appreciate the help.”

He ruffled my hair. “Alright. We’re gonna figure out what to do about Diana,” he promised before I clambered out of his lap, giving him some space to move past me towards the door.

“I know.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i dissociated for like five hours yesterday and when i realized it had gotten dark, i'd written almost 5k words? anyway it was surprisingly usable so here's the next chapter

I walked down the stairs a few minutes later, my hair a wild tangle around my head and my bare feet sticking to the cool hardwood steps. 

The scent of bacon beckoned me to the dining room, where I could also hear the low hum of conversation. 

I stifled a yawn as I entered the room, glancing around. Erik, Sam, and Matthew were at the table in various states of half-asleep, and I heard the low back and forth of James and Damien talking in the kitchen. 

“Morning losers,” I said lightly, hoping up so I was sitting on the table, hiding my own tiredness behind a layer of cheer. “What’s the plan?”

“You’re too chipper,” Matthew said accusingly, lifting his head from where he had it resting on his arms on the tabletop to glare at me. Neither of the other two moved at all.

I gave him my best bright smile. “Push through the sleepiness, my friend, and you too can be ‘chipper’.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by a distressingly familiar sultry chuckle from the direction of the entryway.

Before I had so much as looked to confirm it was Diana standing the doorway, Sam was in front of me. 

“What the hell do you want?” Sam asked, voice practically a growl. 

I hopped off the table, stepping a bit to the side so I could see Diana better. Erik and Matthew had gotten up as well, glaring at Diana themselves as they moved to flank Sam and I.

It would have seemed silly if I hadn’t seen the kind of power she had, three demons being so defensive. As it was, I understood it but couldn’t help the wave of irritation I felt. The fact that they needed to defend me sucked.

James and Damien joined us from the kitchen, watching Diana warily.

“To bring you back of course!” she replied to Sam, eyes flicking to each of the boys in turn. “However, you weren’t supposed to know I was coming.” Her eyes landed on me, and I forced myself to lift my chin defiantly. I wasn’t able to keep the memory of how it felt to be made helpless by her magic from playing in my head. 

“I thought we had a deal, sweetie? Why’d you have to go and tell them?” she asked, her voice practically a purr. 

I rolled my eyes, shoving my fear down and replacing it with indignation. “Look, basically everyone I care about is a long way away. I can hardly do shit against you myself, and I have a house full of people who can help. I’d be a moron to not tell them what was going on. I might be a ‘little human,’ but I’m not going to roll on my back and let you walk all over me.”

I opened my mouth again to point out that it would have been a moot point anyway, with Damien’s mind-reading. But if she didn’t know about it already, I wasn’t going to let her know. That was hardly my secret to tell. 

Still closer to the kitchen than to us and Diana, Damien gave me a grateful look, but turned his attention back to Diana. 

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” he told her, spilling the secret himself. “I would have seen her thoughts when she woke up.”

She looked startled for a moment, then her usual self-assured expression slid back into place. “Ah, of course, your little mind reading ability. My mistake for forgetting,” she said, that sultry chuckle back in her voice.

She took a step into the room, and James and Damien immediately closed the distance between us, joining Matthew, Sam, and Erik in surrounding me. 

I had to stop myself from grinding my teeth in frustration.

Diana laughed again. “My my, what have the worlds come to?” she asked rhetorically. “Five demons protecting a human girl? She’s not  _ that _ pretty, and from what I can tell, she’s still a virgin.”

That cut through my frustration like nothing else would have. I think she meant that to be a dig against me? 

I snorted, crossing my arms. “If you wanna insult me, you’re gonna have to do a lot better than ‘she doesn’t look that good’ and ‘she hasn’t gone to pound town’ oh no, I’m so wounded.”

Diana looked at me around Sam’s shoulder incredulously. “You’re not even slightly offended?” Regret immediately flashed across her face as she realized responding to me like that meant I won that round.

“Please, I went to public school,” I rolled my eyes. “I’ve been ridiculed for  _ literally  _ every part of my appearance and personality from age ten. And whether or not someone’s a virgin has never had any bearing on someone’s value? What’s your body count, Queen of the Damned?”

She collected herself after staring at me for a moment. I might have been mistaken, but I could have sworn I saw a slight blush heat her cheeks. 

“Insolence,” she said calmly. “I don’t need to explain myself to a human.”

I snorted again, letting a smirk play across my face. Point to me.

“You will leave this instant.” James said, still glaring at her.

“Or what?” Diana asked, appearing relieved to be able to turn her attention on someone else. “You’ll kill me? I  _ completely  _ dare you to.”

Sam moved a half step forward. “Let me. I could use the workout.”

This was a productive conversation we were having. Incredibly so. Goddamnit.

If I was less upset and out of sorts about her breaking into my house  _ twice _ I would have been a better moderator. As it was, there was no way I could be neutral enough to fill that roll.

“Don’t,” Damien’s interruption cut through the tense atmosphere, and everyone’s heads turned to him. 

Matthew looked angrier than I’d ever seen him as he spoke up. “Why not? She broke into Abigail’s room and threatened her, now she’s here again, threatening to take us back!”

Damien just shook his head with a grim expression. “She  _ wants _ us to kill her. If she dies then civil war starts in the demon world.”

“Very good, sweetie,” Diana laughed, her long brown hair shimmering behind her as she tossed her head. 

Erik snorted. “What happens in the demon world doesn’t concern us anymore,” he said, leaning a hip on a nearby chair as he tried to give off an unconcerned air. It didn’t really work, since all his attention was still very visibly focussed on Diana. “We live here now.”

I frowned at him. Was he really that unconcerned with what happened to their homeland? Were all of them? I glanced at each of the brothers in turn, but all I could read from them was anger directed at Diana.

“The demons will come to the human world and hunt us down before attacking each other,” Damien said, glaring at the succubus. 

That… didn’t make sense to me. Maybe I was missing something though. None of the boys seemed inclined to disagree with her, and I was hardly going to question them in front of Diana. 

I heard a low growl come from Sam. “You sneaky bitch.”

Diana just smirked. “Well, will you all change your minds? I assure you, it’s for the greater good.”

Despite myself, I felt my chest tighten with anxiety. If after what Diana had said, the boys wanted to go back, I wouldn’t stop them. Like I had told Diana herself last night, they were adults and could make their own decisions. But I’d come to like them all in their own way. I could see myself becoming friends with them. There was a lot they could teach me about magic, and a lot I could teach them about how the human world worked. Maybe I could convince them to go to therapy.

And then there was Sam…

I didn’t take my eyes off Diana, but I was almost more aware of Sam’s presence to my left. 

Sam would hurt the most. I didn’t have  _ any _ right to have a say one way or another about where he went or what he did. None at all. We’d known each other for four days. The fact remained that if he chose to go back to the Abyssal Plains, it would hurt. 

None of them were saying anything, which wasn’t doing anything to lessen my anxiety. 

Diana’s brow furrowed, however, as she looked at the boys surrounding me. “No? Well… I see.”

I finally tore my eyes from Diana, looking around at the boys. None of them were wavering, determination and anger in all of their eyes. 

I couldn’t help the breath of relief that escaped me at that. I stepped a bit closer to Sam, resisting the urge to reach for his hand. 

Sam didn’t take his eyes from Diana, still glaring daggers at her, but he shifted his weight towards me a little, indicating he knew I was there. 

“Either you are all playing a  _ very _ convincing hard to get game, or you’re all out of your minds,” Diana said, rubbing her temple with one hand, eyes closed as though she was fighting off a headache. 

Her eyes snapped open and locked with mine for a moment. I couldn’t hide the triumph I felt, and her lip curled in a slight sneer for a moment before she glanced around at the boys one last time. 

“Very well. I suppose I’ll take my leave now.”

I was immediately suspicious, and I sensed the confusion the boys felt as well as their brows knit in expressions that suddenly highlighted the fact that they were brothers. With a theatrical bow, she sunk into a purple pentagram that appeared beneath her feet and vanished when she sunk out of view. 

The tension leaving the room was almost visible as the boys relaxed, heading for their spots at the table, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. 

“She’ll be back,” James said. “But she won’t kill us. She needs us alive.”

A grin broke out on Matthew’s face, but the happy expression didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Whatever. We’ll just keep saying no. She can’t force us to come back!” There was a hint of uncertainty to his voice, but I wasn’t about to point that out. 

“She can’t do anything but annoy us,” Sam said, not moving from beside me. “Eventually she’ll give up.”

“That’s the hope, anyway,” Erik added, his brow furrowed. 

“You okay?” Sam asked me.

I looked up at him, startled to see the amount of concern in his face. 

I nodded. “More or less. She’s not gone for good, and I hate that. I’m worried about my aunt, to be honest. We have no way of knowing what she’s up to.”

“One of us can go check on her?” James offered. I shook my head.

“I appreciate that, but I don’t think that’s safe. If she doesn’t know who my aunt is already, you’ll lead Diana right to her. I’ll give her a call after breakfast and suggest she go visit my moms. She hasn’t been to the farm in a long time, and as different as mom and her are, I know mom misses her. Something else is bothering me about what Diana said, though.”

“Hold on, let us get the food on the table and we can talk about it while we eat,” Damien said. He and James went back into the kitchen, and by the time they came back, arms loaded with various plates of food, the rest of us were seated at the table.

I couldn’t help the sense of satisfaction that ran through me when Sam chose the seat directly to my left. 

“So, princess,” Erik said, pulling his plate closer with one hand and grabbing the maple syrup with the other. “What’s bothering you?”

“Aside from all of it?” Matthew added, his voice muffled by the bacon he had just shoved in his mouth. 

I chuckled, taking a sip of my orange juice before answering. “Damien, you said she thinks demons would come to the human world to hunt you guys down in retribution for killing her. Just because she thinks that’s what would happen doesn’t mean that that’s what actually  _ would _ happen. Can they - demons, I mean - just… come to the human world? How does it work?”

James set his fork on his plate and put his elbows on the table, knitting his fingers as he looked curiously at me from the other end of the table. “No, there has to be a human on this side to help us come through. When we came through, we used our own energy to power the spell that brought us here, so the man who helped us survived, but it’s possible for a demon to use all the energy of whoever helped them through, killing them. Either way, they would appear nearby, within five feet or so.”

I hummed, taking a bite of toast before responding. “That’s another question I have, who brought you guys here. That can wait though, I suppose. Can a demon pick a random person and use their energy, kill them, and come through? Is it one for one, or would one human’s energy be enough to bring multiple demons through?”

“We’re not sure,” James admitted.

“Yeah, we didn’t exactly want to risk a trial run and kill someone,” Sam pointed out. I inclined my head, ceding the point as I shoved some more food into my mouth.

“But if a human has been touched by demon magic at some point, they can be used as a conduit,” Erik continued, looking from James to me with confusion on his face. James was still watching me with curiosity, like he was wondering where I was going. Sucked to suck, I needed more information before I could work my way around to the point I wanted to make.

“How many humans do you think would be able to be used like that?”

“There’s no real way of knowing. There are more demons and cambions to radiate magic here than you’d think. Let’s say… a couple hundred thousand in the world?”

I frowned at James. What the hell was a cambion? Whatever. I’d come back to that later.

“So let’s logic this out,” I started, setting my fork down and glancing at the others. Damien, James, and Erik had stopped eating, watching me with interest. Sam and Matthew were eating ravenously, unsurprisingly, but I could tell they were listening. 

“Two hundred thousand people drop dead. Maybe some of them are sleeping, or don’t have anyone else around them at the time, so it, what, looks like a heart attack?” James opened his mouth to explain, but I waved him off. It didn’t really matter to what I was getting at. “But with that many people, some are bound to be in public places, have witnesses around them, be visible on security cameras. They drop dead, the demons appear nearby in flashes of light, or pentagrams like Diana, whatever. People take photos, take videos. Maybe the demons kill them too, in the name of no witnesses. So now there’s more bodies. Even then, they’re not gonna be able to catch everyone who snapped a photo or recorded a video, or alter all the security feeds. People post videos and photos online, it goes viral because hey what the hell is that? It’s got really cool special effects for a cell phone video. And whoa, there in the corner, there’s an actual dead body.”

I paused, looking at the ceiling for a second to gather my thoughts before turning my attention back to the boys and continuing.

“Maybe the population at large doesn’t take note, but someone will. Maybe no one important. Maybe it’s just conspiracy theorists on reddit. But maybe the authorities take a closer look. Two hundred thousand or so isn’t a huge portion of the population, but it’s a pretty damn large death count, especially if it looks like they have the same cause of death, and they die around the same time. They’ll put together the deaths with the videos and pictures of demonic people appearing. It’ll be a manhunt. They’ll figure out about glamour spells, people will stop trusting each other, it’ll get bloody.”

I saw James leaping ahead of me, following my train of thought. He didn’t say anything, but judging by the gleam in his eye, he’d come to the same conclusion I had. Damien, too, had either listened in to my thoughts or had untangled my logic and followed it to its conclusion. I supposed it didn’t really matter which one.

Everyone else still looked lost.

“The odds are pretty slim that all these demon-magic-touched people are in the Chicago area,” I pressed on. “So they’ll have to hunt you down. That either confines them to walking, buying plane tickets, taxis, whatever, with money they don’t have, which buys us time to figure out a plan. Or, alternatively, they hijack means of transportation, creating more carnage and drawing more attention to themselves. Now humanity knows demons are real. I know you guys have been here a while, spent some time around humans. Do you think that we’ll shove those demons back to the Abyssal Plains and go back to business as usual?”

“No…?” Matthew tried, looking to his brothers to see if he’d hit on the correct answer.

“No,” I agreed, snapping a piece of bacon between my teeth before pressing on through a full mouth. 

“Now we know magic is real. Demons are real. One rather unfortunate facet of us humans is that we always want what other people have. We’ll find a way into the Abyssal Plains, even if it takes years. We’ll come up with something that, alright, maybe it won’t  _ win  _ the war, but it’ll make it damn expensive, and we’ll take out a hell of a lot of demons before we roll over and die.”

“This is assuming the authorities make the connection and figure out what’s going on,” Erik pointed out tentatively.

I nodded. “Yes, this is assuming that. It’s not a  _ completely  _ unfounded assumption. If they’re coming just to avenge Diana, then I doubt they’d be putting too much effort in hiding themselves. That many demons suddenly wrecking shop on our planet? The other assumption I’m making is that hundreds of thousands of demons would come through at once. I  _ am _ making a lot of assumptions. But you guys are pretty high profile. Five sons of what I’m going to assume is the most powerful demon on the Abyssal Plain. If the warehouse the other day,” I inclined my head to Sam. “Was any indication, then you guys have power yourselves. You’re not people, I think, the powers that be would send one or two assassins after. Besides, ‘demon civil war’ doesn’t sound particularly well-organized to me. Would one faction take charge of avenging Diana, or would a number of parties all scramble to come here, be the ones to kill you, and go back triumphantly with the knowledge that they’re now the most powerful faction? Without knowing more about the politics of your world - which, frankly, don’t particularly interest me. I have enough on my plate trying to keep the politics of my own world straight - I have no way of guessing.

“The point I’m making here is that no matter how important Diana thinks she is, do you think the demons of the Abyssal Plains would find the benefit of coming here to kill you guys worth the potential cost?”

They all fell silent, and even Sam and Matthew paused and put their utensils down. James gave me an impressed look before turning his attention to his food.

“Are you saying we  _ should _ have just killed her?” Sam asked, slightly incredulous. 

I raised an eyebrow, forkful of waffle halfway to my mouth. “Am… am I suggesting murder? No. I’m just saying that I don’t think she has a leg to stand on with the whole ‘if you kill me the Abyssal Plain will fall to civil war and the demons will come for you first’ thing. We might not understand Diana’s motivation, but I do think she  _ has _ one. Killing her without understanding her stake in all of this would make us the bad guys.”

“She just wants to be queen,” Matthew chimed in. 

“For once, I agree with Matthew,” Sam said, flopping back in his chair and folding his arms. “I don’t really care what her motivations are. She’s messing with us, and she needs to piss off.”

I shrugged and turned my attention to my food. The issue was while I didn’t think killing her was the answer, I fundamentally agreed with Sam. She had broken into my house, threatened me and mine, then tried to coerce the boys into doing something they clearly didn’t want to. As much as I thought she had to have a reason for doing what she did, I  _ mostly _ just wanted her to go away.

I’d already dealt with a lot of bullshit this week. I really didn’t need any more. 

I followed the others’ conversation as I ate, but I was mostly thinking about my family. Was auntie Syl alright? What was Diana up to? Did she know about my moms, Chris, Stefan, Natalia?

If Diana came back tonight, would I be able to defend myself?

“Hey,” Sam said quietly, his voice low enough that no one looked up from their own conversation. “It’s gonna be okay.” 

Ah, he’d read my spiraling train of thought on my face. I gave him a smile. “I wish I had your confidence,” I said in the same low tone. 

Beneath the table, he put his foot on mine, his knee knocking softly into my thigh as he returned the smile with a wide grin. “Between my fists and your magic, Diana doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Magic?” Erik interrupted. He was looking at us with both eyebrows raised. 

Okay. Maybe neither of us was as quiet as I thought we were. 

The rest of the guys were looking at us now. 

I hesitantly held my hand out palm up and pulled on my magic like I had last night on the roof with Sam. 

Faster than before, my hand filled with that gently glowing, drifting mist trickling through my fingers. It evaporated long before it hit the tabletop. 

“No secrets in this house, I guess,” I said lightly. I was going to be telling them about it in a few minutes anyway, I supposed. 

“Huh. Is that new?” Matthew asked. 

I nodded. “I found a book in my grandfather’s study. It had a lot of information on demon magic. I don’t know if it… unlocked my own abilities somehow, or just made me aware that it was there. The point is I’m aware now, and I want to learn how to use it to… I dunno, defend myself for a start.”

“We can certainly help you with that,” James said, standing up and starting to gather everyone’s plates. “Erik and I are the most proficient with demon magic, but we all have our own talents.”

“Yeah,” Matthew laughed. “Sam’s favourite spell is ‘punch’!”

Sam took a swipe at him with a snarl, but Matthew managed to dodge him, booking it out of the dining room with a laugh. 

Sam looked at me, a question in his eyes. I nodded. 

“Go kick his ass.”

With my blessing, Sam turned into a blur, chasing Matthew out of the room. There was a loud thud, followed by Matthew’s indignant voice from the living room. 

“Ow! No fair!”

“Shut up, runt! You started this!”

I rolled my eyes, but was smiling at their antics. I grabbed Sam’s plate as well as my own, spinning out of James’ reach as he moved to take the dishes from me.

“I’ll load the dishwasher if someone else washes the pans,” I said over my shoulder, pushing the kitchen doors open with my shoulder. 

~~~

I set the dishwasher to work, then dried my hands and pulled my phone out of my pocket. Time to call my aunt. 

I hopped up onto the island and opened up my contacts.

“Oh, should I turn the water off?” Matthew asked, glancing over my shoulder to see me putting my phone to my ear. 

I shook my head. “That’s sweet, but don’t worry about it,” I told him before my aunt picked up.

“Abigail! Darling! You’ve finally called! I simply don’t know what I’ve done with my cell phone! Those lovely boys who work for you searched everywhere for it, but they weren’t able to find it! Do you think one of the guests took it from my purse?”

“Auntie, are you asking me if a chair-person of the Anderson Toys company stole your cell phone?”

“Well when you say it like that it sounds ridiculous,” she huffed. 

I grinned at Matthew’s bemused expression, waving for him to keep washing the dishes.

I let auntie Syl ramble on for a few minutes, and she complained about everything from the weather to the renovations on her house. She didn’t bring up what had happened with Andrew, but in all honesty, so much had happened in the intervening time, I had forgotten to be upset with her about it.

“Auntie, you know what you need?” I cut her off when she stopped for breath in the middle of a diatribe about the state of the park near her house.

“What’s that, dear?”

“You need a vacation.”

That made her pause. I took the opportunity to keep talking. 

“I know mom, mother, and Chris would love to see you,” eeehhh that might be an exaggeration, “and the farm is really pretty this time of year!”

“I don’t know dear, you know farm life doesn’t agree with me-”

I needed her to get out of town. Diana might not even be aware she was my aunt, but if she had been watching the house, if she’d seen the party on Saturday, she’d probably put together that aunt Sylvia was at the very least important to me. I couldn’t risk her getting hurt. It just came down to how I wanted to convince her to leave.

“Oh auntie,” I interrupted, pitching my voice up a little bit and matching her tone. It was a trick I’d learned from watching my mom interact with other parents in my various guide groups and other activities growing up.

Matthew had finished washing the dishes and was looking at me with a dubious expression. I grinned at him and wiggled my eyebrows. I pulled my phone from my ear and hit the speakerphone button. 

“You know it’s charity ball season, and mom won’t leave mother alone with all that work. It’s been how long since you saw each other? Two years? Two years at least! Chris is so tall now! He’s fourteen, you know,” I pointed out underhandedly. “He’s still in school, so he can’t come see you. The dust kicked up by the renovations on your house are wreaking havoc on your allergies, like you said, and the guest room at the farm is lovely! You can stay there for a few days, get away from the drywall and paint. They’ll be so excited to see you!”

“It’s such short notice,” auntie Syl protested, but I could tell from her tone my little vocal trick was paying off. 

“Ridiculous!” I chirped. “Family is so important, and you’re the only family mom still talks to! She’ll be so excited to hear you’re coming for a visit.”

“Oh, very well dear. It has been too long. I’ll give your mom a call straight away.”

“Good! That makes me really happy, auntie! I’ll let you go so you can plan the trip! Have a good day auntie!”

“You too, dear!”

I hung up and hopped off the counter, putting a hand on Matthew’s shoulder. He was looking at me with some mixture of horror and awe.

“Pray I never turn my psychological manipulation on you,” I told him as somberly as I could manage, lips twitching with amusement. 

I gave his cheek a pat, my face breaking into a grin before I turned and half skipped out of the room.

Time to find James and Erik for my first magic lesson.

God what was my life anymore? 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> being back at work is ~not great~ but here's another chapter for y'all. took me longer than i hoped to get it done but i managed to find my inspo. i wanna do more stuff with the magic; soft magic systems are my faves to mess around in

“Magic isn’t something to be trifled with,” James said seriously. “Depending on the spell, it can backfire on you with unintended and unfortunate consequences.”

I yanked my unruly hair into a bun, the light breeze blowing through the sunlit backyard tugging at my curls. Did he really think I was dumb enough to treat magic as a toy? I might have only been aware of all this stuff for a few days, but I thought I’d proven myself more competent than that.   
Erik sighed. “We’re not going to be teaching her anything crazy. Can we not scare her with the doom and gloom talk?”

“She needs to know the risks,” James insisted. 

I reluctantly nodded in agreement. True, the ‘doom and gloom talk’ had brought my mood down, but I’d rather know what could go wrong before starting to mess around with a force like magic. 

That didn’t mean I couldn’t still be a jackass.

“I would very much like to learn how to shoot lightning out of my hands.”

James stared at me for a moment, trying to figure out whether or not I was joking. I blinked innocently at him, making sure my face remained completely neutral. 

I heard Sam snort from somewhere behind me. 

At least  _ he _ knew I was taking the piss. 

“We’ll start with a light sphere,” James finally said, moving on without addressing it. The coward.

“Magic is different for everyone, princess,” Erik said. “Some need to use verbal incantations, some-”

He cut himself off as I held out my hand, a perfect sphere of pale blue light hovering about an inch above my cupped palm. It was about the size of my fist, and the light it gave off was bright and cool. With the morning sun shining down on us, it didn’t go very far, but it was still bright enough that it almost hurt my eyes to look at it.

I blinked at it for a moment, just as surprised as Erik seemed to be. I’d just held out my hand and pictured it filling with light.

“Some are more instinctual in their abilities,” James said, slight amusement in his voice. His eyes were narrowed in something like irritation, though. Was he irked that I was picking up on the whole magic thing as quickly as I was?

“Whoa!” I heard Matthew say as he joined us in the backyard. “That was fast!”

“She’s a natural,” Sam replied, a hint of pride in his voice. I shot him a grin, which he returned. 

They walked me through a few exercises, keeping my eyes closed to sense my magic beneath my skin, pushing and pulling it to various places in my body, finding where its limits were. 

“You’ve got a lot of power, for a human,” James observed. 

I tilted my head, opening an eye to peer narrowly at him. His amber eyes were streaked through with glowing yellow as he presumably used his own abilities to sense what I was doing with my magic. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

He flushed a bit, and opened his mouth to reply, but I waved a hand, grimacing at myself.

“Sorry, that was shitty of me. Everything’s been happening so fast, and I haven’t even had the time to process the normal stuff that’s happened let alone,” I waved my hand vaguely to indicate them, the mansion, magic, Malix, Diana, everything that had gone on in the last few days. 

Face still slightly red, James inclined his head to accept my apology. “Still, I could have phrased my comment better,” he replied. 

I waved my hand again and closed my eyes, focussing back on mentally tracing the currents my magic took through my veins. 

It had a pulse to it, a rippling current that ebbed and flowed adjacent to but not quite matching my heartbeat. I could feel it in my veins, beneath my skin, settled in my bones, under my nails, and even extending a ways into the ground below my feet. 

Now that I knew it was there, I had no clue how I had missed it before. It felt like such an intrinsic part of me, warm, and comforting, and powerful. Maybe I  _ had _ been aware of it on some level. Subconsciously known it was there. Either way, I knew it was there now, and it seemed almost eager to help me, waiting for me to tell it what I wanted. 

I learned a few other little things. Projecting the ball of light to hover in various places, like locked on the side of the mansion, or hovering over my shoulder like an absurd parrot while I walked around the yard. 

The next thing they taught me was how to make small electrical zaps, forcing someone who was touching me to get their hands off. 

Sam stood behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. I closed my eyes, focussing on gathering a small wad of magical energy in my chest like James and Erik had told me. It gathered just fine, but when I tried to direct it to where Sam’s hand rested on my skin, it wouldn’t budge. 

I frowned, my brow creasing, and pushed harder. Still it wouldn’t move. 

“Hmmm,” James hummed. 

“What’s wrong?” Matthew asked from somewhere to our left. 

I shrugged, opening my eyes. “I don’t know. I’ve got the energy gathered, it just doesn’t want to do the thing.”

Erik smirked, looking from Sam to me. “I think I know what the problem is. James, why don’t you take Sam’s place?”

James frowned at him, but nodded. I glanced at Sam with an arched eyebrow, but he just shrugged, looking as nonplussed as I felt as he took his hand back and stepped back towards where Damien and Matthew were watching. 

James stood in front of me and put his hand on my forearm. 

I re-focussed my attention on the lump of magic I’d gathered, and nudged it towards James’ hand on my arm. 

The result was immediate. 

James leapt back a foot with a yelp, shaking his hand furiously, his hair standing on end. 

I clapped a hand to my mouth, eyes wide. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”

Erik was laughing, his hands on his knees as he doubled over. Sam and Matthew looked just as confused as I felt, and Damien was just shaking his head, a knowing grin on his face.

The fact that it hadn’t worked at all on Sam, but had had such an immediate effect on James was weird. I had no- 

Oh. 

I felt my face heat as it belatedly occurred to me that, in all likelihood, the reason I hadn’t been able to zap Sam was related to me having feelings for him. 

Erik and Damien seemed to be the only ones who had put it together at this point, and it wasn’t like Sam and I were all that stealthy to begin with, but I still felt a bit embarrassed.

Almost unconsciously, I reached up and touched the dog tag hanging around my neck.

“It’s alright, Abigail,” James replied ruefully, still shaking his hand to get rid of lingering shocks. “We want you to learn to use your abilities to defend yourself, after all.” 

He glanced between me and Sam for a moment, still seeming confused, then he looked to Damien and Erik and it seemed to click. 

“Why did it work on James but not Sam?” Matthew asked, still lost. 

“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” Erik said, still chuckling. Matthew glared at him and opened his mouth to argue, but Erik pushed on before he got the chance. “I think it’s safe to say Abigail has a handle on that particular ability. Let’s move on.”

“Yes, let’s,” James agreed. 

Matthew looked pleadingly at me, but I just shrugged, my face still warm. Sam still looked confused, too, but he just leaned forward and folded his arms on the gazebo railing. 

Presumably reading Erik or James’ mind about what they wanted to teach me next, Damien grabbed a decent sized rock from near where he was standing by the door to the house and moved it away from the wooden paneling.

“Next, we’ll go over attraction and repulsion magic,” James said. 

Erik fully regained his composure and nodded. “Pulling an object closer or pushing it away, princess,” he clarified. 

I nodded sagely, shoving my embarrassment to the side. “Using The Force.”

“The… the force?” James asked in confusion. 

I rolled my eyes. “C’mon, I know you guys have been here for a while. You  _ have  _ to have heard of Star Wars.”

James’ forehead creased in confusion, but he didn’t say anything and moved on to walking me through how to move the rock.

This one wasn’t as easy as the other things I’d been learning had been. I managed to move the thing a few inches either way, but that was about it. 

“Interesting. Energy manipulation seems to be your strong suit,” James commented as I struggled. 

I ignored him, keeping my focus on the rock as I tried to pull it towards me. It spasmed suddenly before leaping off the ground and into my outstretched hand.

I grinned at it, waving it triumphantly. 

“Suck it Obi Wan! Now  _ I’m _ the jedi master!”

“Nice!” Matthew shouted encouragingly. I grinned at him, shooting him and Sam a thumbs up.

“What would you like to learn now that you’ve got most of the basics down, princess?”

I tossed the rock aside and turned my attention to Erik. 

I tilted my head for a second, considering. “When Diana showed up in my room, she locked all my muscles or bound me in place somehow? I wanna know how to stop that from happening again.”

“That’s understandable,” Damien replied mildly. 

Sam’s expression darkened, the wood of the railing groaning beneath his hands as his grip tightened. 

“Easy, tiger,” I said, arching an eyebrow and glancing pointedly from him to the railing. He gave me a sheepish look and stood up, unlocking his fingers from the painted white wood. 

James and Erik were nodding. 

“We should be able to help with that,” James told me. “Erik, I believe this is more your area of expertise?”

Erik gave me a smile. “Given your talents, it shouldn’t take you too long to master that particular ability, princess.”

I snorted. “Tell that to the rock that took ten minutes to move.” 

“You’re not going to be perfect at everything immediately,” Damien pointed out. 

I shot him a grin. “Tell  _ that  _ to my ego.”

“When dealing with locking magic, princess,” Erik said, gently bringing my focus back to the subject at hand. “You have to look for the strands of magic holding you in place, then use your own power to find the weakness in them. No holding spell is perfect, there will always be a place you can use to break it.”

I returned my attention to him with a nod. 

“If you’re ready, I’ll bind you, and you can attempt to break out. Damien, would you please let me know if our princess wishes me to let her go?”

Damien nodded in agreement. 

I was grateful he had thought of that. The idea of being locked in place, barely able to talk like last night freaked me out quite a bit. 

I took a deep breath. “Go for it,” I told Erik.

It was slightly different than when Diana had locked my muscles. I think Erik might have been holding back a bit. I was okay with that, to be honest. 

Even trusting Erik, giving up control like this was pretty stressful. 

Sam was watching with concern, his muscles tensed. He looked like he was ready to push off from where he was standing and leap to my defense. 

That was sweet, but I needed to figure this out on my own, and watching Sam’s reactions to what was happening was distracting me. 

I closed my eyes and focussed on my magic. 

Now that Erik had told me what to look for, I could sense the red strands of his magic tangling around and through me, holding me in place. I felt along the tendrils with my own white-blue magic searching for any weak points in Erik’s spell. 

It took a bit of poking and prodding, but I eventually found a spot where it seemed more… translucent, almost. Right where it wrapped around my thighs, it seemed to thin out, not be as sturdy or opaque. 

Okay. Now what?

I hadn’t been paying too much attention to how much time was passing, but evidently it hadn’t been a small amount. I started hearing the boys shifting restlessly and talking among themselves. It was very distracting.

“Shut up, I’m working on it,” I said, irritation colouring my voice. 

They fell silent.

I kept my eyes closed and visualized digging my fingers beneath the ribbons of energy tangling through and around me and pulling, trying to wiggle the bindings loose. 

That definitely did something. I didn’t feel constrained as tightly. 

I kept at it that way for a while, but it didn’t get much looser, and I was starting to feel tired. 

Frustrated, I pictured my fingers sharpening into claws and dug them directly into the magic binding me. 

My eyes snapped open as I heard Erik yelp, the spell falling away from me. The sudden absence of magic locking my muscles made me stumble, and Sam was suddenly at my side, an arm around my hips to prevent me from falling. 

“I’m so sorry, Erik,” I said, eyes wide as I watched him rub his temples with his fingers, a pained expression on his face. “I got tired and I got frustrated and I didn’t know it would hurt you-”

“It’s fine, princess,” he interrupted. “I didn’t think you could hurt me either. Besides, how else are you to learn?”

James put his hand on Erik’s shoulder. “How about we take a break?”

~~~

I gave Sam a grateful smile as he handed me a glass of ice water before sitting next to me on the stairs of the gazebo. 

“I didn’t know using magic would make me so tired,” I told him, taking a sip. “I mean, I guess it makes sense. It’s a crazy powerful thing, of course there’s gonna be a cost of some sort.”

Sam bumped my shoulder with his. “You’re doing really good,” he said. “You’ve got a shit-ton of magic power. I don’t know how we missed it when we first arrived.”

I shrugged. “I had no clue it was there either, not until I read that book in grandpa’s study.” I took another drink. “It’s weird, you know? I thought I was pretty close to him, knew a lot about him. But I never knew anything about the magic.”

“He was trying to protect you,” Sam said confidently.

“Protect me?”

“James knows more about it. Devils and demons, we’re not supposed to mingle with humans. The angels do their best to keep you guys oblivious about everything to do with us.”

I groaned. “There’s angels too?” I paused and blinked for a moment, staring blankly at the back wall of the mansion for a moment as my brain followed the ‘angels are real’ train for a few seconds. “Hang on. If there are angels does that mean God is real? Like, Christian God?”

I had no clue why I didn’t put it together before. Devils and demons were a Christian concept, too. I guess they’d just been used in other media separate from the presence of God that I’d divorced the two concepts in my head. 

Sam shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “To be honest, no one really knows? Angels don’t really stop and talk to… well, anyone, so no one’s been able to ask them. I’ve never really thought about it. If he is real, he’s never bothered us in the Abyssal Plains.”

“One day,” I muttered, setting my glass down on the wood planks of the gazebo beside me and pressing the heels of my hands to my eyes. “I just want to go one day without some sort of earthshaking revelation. My brain is going to explode, and that’s gonna be on you guys. You’re gonna have to be the ones to tell my moms that you exploded my brain.”

I heard Sam chuckle as he put a hand on my back, rubbing in soothing circles. Despite myself, I leaned into his side a bit.

“Alright. Enough about that,” I said, taking a deep breath and moving my hands from my face and looking up at him. “The other night when Damien was showing me you guys in the castle, you were talking about needing a human on this side to help you come over, that he and Matthew were talking to someone who could help you come over. Who was that?”

It was something I was dreading asking. I had suspicions, of course. I was scared of having them confirmed, to be honest. But not knowing was worse.

“I can answer that,” Damien’s quiet voice came from my other side. I jumped, not having heard him approach. Sam’s arm tightened slightly around me, the only indication that he was surprised as well. 

Damien gave me an apologetic smile and gestured to the space beside me, asking permission to sit. I nodded, grabbing my water and moving it out of the way. 

He sat next to me, interlocking his fingers and staring at them for a moment before he started speaking, not looking at me. 

There was something sad in his face, and I felt a sinking sensation in my chest. 

“We were all mistreated in the Abyssal Plain,” he started. I nodded, remembering some of what he had shown me. He flinched at my memories, and I mentally kicked myself and tried to shove those thoughts from my head. 

“I spent a lot of time with Matthew,” he continued. “As the youngest legitimate son, Matthew had the most freedom while still having access to the library. Not to mention the fact that his mom taught him to read and write.”

Were the others not literate? I glanced at Sam from the corner of my eye. Sure, his writing was messy, but both the notes he’d left me had been legible, and none of the words had been misspelled. 

Sam was watching his brother with a furrowed brow, like this was his first time hearing about this, too. I returned my attention to Damien as he continued talking.

“There were a few books that talked about the human world, and eventually Matthew and I decided to try and communicate with someone here.” He still wasn’t meeting my eyes, instead he kept studying his hands. “It took… awhile. Communicating across Plains takes a lot of magic, and it’s easier to talk to someone who is either already trying to communicate back, or has demon magic of their own.”   
The sinking feeling in my chest got worse, but I did my best not to let my rapidly growing suspicions run through my head. I didn’t want to interrupt Damien’s storytelling, not when it seemed to be so hard on him. 

He finally looked at me, sorrow and apology in his eyes. “It was your grandfather who helped us through, Harold Anderson.”

“What?!” Sam’s shock seemed greater than my own. 

The thought that my grandfather had been the one who helped the boys get here had been floating in the back of my mind for a while. I had no idea what had gotten him into magic in the first place, or what his intentions would have been, but if he had any idea what they had been going through in the Abyssal Plain, I knew he would have jumped at the opportunity to help, whatever his other motivations were. 

“You’re not surprised,” Damien noted, like he wasn’t surprised himself. 

James, Erik, and Matthew were also looking over at us now, their attention drawn by Sam’s outburst. 

Sam was looking between me and Damien with increasing confusion of his own. 

“What do you mean you’re not surprised?! Your grandfather, the one who owned this house,  _ he’s _ the guy that helped us get here?!”

I shook my head, raising my voice a bit so the others could hear too, even as they made their way over to the gazebo. “When you first mentioned that my grandpa knew magic, I kind of thought it was too big of a coincidence that you guys ended up in his mansion. I don’t know the statistics about how many humans know demon magic or whatever, but my grandpa dying, you guys showing up in his mansion, no way they weren’t related.”

James blinked. “Harold Anderson… we’d never been to his house, so we didn’t know this mansion was his. We had nothing to do with your grandfather’s death, Abigail.”

“Yeah!” Matthew said. “That night was the first time we’d been here! Besides, we’ve been here for months, and we had no idea the man who helped us was dead.”

Right. I knew that, that they’d been here for a while. I didn’t really think they had something to do with his death. Did I? 

God, so much just kept happening. 

“That’s… not quite true,” Damien said sheepishly, replying to Matthew’s comment. 

Everyone’s attention turned to him. 

“I, uhm. I spoke with his ghost, that first night. And he’s the one I followed here when we were hurt.” 

“And you didn’t say anything before now?” Erik asked. I was glad he had asked, as there was a growing lump in my throat that stopped me from asking myself.

Damien shook his head, shame on his face.

“His ghost?” I murmured, interrupting whatever Damien had been about to say. The sinking in my chest had turned into a tightness that I knew was going to turn into tears. He had been here? In the mansion? How long had he stuck around? Was he still here?  _ Had _ it been him that day in his study when I’d had the strange, sourceless urge to put the book on demon magic back in its drawer? 

“Is he still…?”

“No,” Damien said, shaking his head. “He left for whatever afterlife exists after Sam took care of Malix, and he knew you were okay.”

I nodded numbly, trying not to think too hard about that. 

The boys were still talking to one another, either asking Damien why he hadn’t said anything sooner again, or just expressing disbelief that my grandfather had been the man who had funded their several months of globe-trotting before they ended up here. 

I didn’t really hear what they were saying, trying to shove the inevitable tears back into my chest where they couldn’t slide from my eyes. 

It felt like everything that had happened in the last week was crashing down around me. My grandfather's death, demons, magic, life-threatening encounters with devils and succubi. Angels?  _ God?! _ Now I found out that not only had my grandfather known about magic, he had been the one who brought the boys into our world, and he’d hung around as a ghost for a while, keeping an eye on us.

His death had been months after they had come through, the cause had been listed as heart failure, but how much effort would bringing five demons through from another plain of existence take? Enough to drain years off his life? 

Panic was building in my chest, a traitorous lump that I couldn’t shove away as my heart started to race and my breath started coming faster.

I needed some space.

They all fell silent when I stood up. I gave Damien what I hoped was a smile that told him I wasn’t too mad at him, but I couldn’t unlock my jaw to reassure him. If I did, I’d just start crying. I headed for the house.

Sam made to follow me, but someone stopped him. 

I made it to the living room before I started sobbing. 

~~~

I hadn’t bothered turning the lights on before curling up against the armrest of the couch. I had no clue how long it had been. All I knew was I didn’t have any more tears to cry, but I wasn’t ready to go back into the mansion and find the boys again. 

“Don’t just stand out here! Go comfort her!”

“What the hell am I supposed to say?!”

“You’ll figure it out! You’ve left her alone for too long.”

“I can hear you, you know.”

Erik and Sam’s hissed conversation in the arched entrance behind me cut off as I spoke up, followed by what sounded like Sam being shoved into the room. 

“Go!”

I heard the sound of Erik walking away before Sam started hesitantly making his way to the couch. 

I kept staring at the wall across from me, lit by the light coming in from the hall. Hung there was a large photo of me, Chris, mom, mother, and grandpa. It had been taken at my grade seven graduation, in front of the school. It hadn’t been that long ago, all things considered, but it seemed like a far-off dream. 

My hair was an untamed mess despite mom’s best efforts earlier that day, and dust was caked on my dress and leggings from when I had been roughhousing with Sean Hayes before the graduation ‘ceremony,’ such as it was. Chris was eight and missing a front tooth, grinning at the camera with chubby baby cheeks, soft brown hair practically a halo around his head. Mom and mother looked almost the same, if a bit less care-worn. Mother’s hair was longer than it was now, and a brighter orange, and mom’s was cut in a more severe bob than I remember it being. 

Grandpa looked… he looked like my grandpa. Soft features, a proud nose with silver hair, and a happy twinkle in his eyes that promised joy and mischief in equal measure. 

The couch cushion beside me sunk in as Sam sat down. 

I didn’t say anything. What  _ could  _ I say? I was sitting there with swollen eyes and a red face, and despite the part of me that thought  _ maybe  _ he and his brothers had something indirectly to do with my grandfather's death, I still felt awkward about him seeing me like this. 

I heard Sam take a deep breath, only to cut himself off before blowing the breath out in a sigh. I couldn’t think of anything to say either, so we just sat in silence for a few minutes. 

“I don’t-” He took another deep breath. “I’m really sorry about what happened with your grandfather. Damien says he had no clue what killed him. He was visiting a friend in the hospital or something? We weren’t in town at the time, flying in from Brazil, I think. I don’t- I- if you want us to go though, we will.” 

He sounded so unhappy when he made that offer.

Did I  _ really _ think they had something to do with grandpa’s death? I believed Sam when he said they weren’t in town, but if the past few days had taught me anything it was that coincidences were few and far between. Had the strain of bringing them through been too much for my grandpa?

If that was the case… was that necessarily the boys’ fault?

Presumably grandfather had offered to help of his own volition. He obviously knew more about magic than I did, he would have at least had an idea about what the risks and what his limits were. 

No, it wouldn’t be fair to hold his death against them, even if it turned out that his death  _ had _ been a result of magic overexertion. Grandpa was an adult. He made his own decisions, and he had decided to help them.

Besides, there was still a chance that it wasn’t related to the boys at all, slim as that chance was. 

I didn’t realize how long I’d been quiet. Sam moved to get up, presumably taking my silence as confirmation that I wanted him and his brothers to leave. 

I couldn’t talk around the lump that was still in my throat, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at him yet, but I reached out and grabbed the shoulder of his vest to stop him from leaving. 

Tentatively, he sat back down and slid a bit closer, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me to lean against his side.

I closed my eyes and nuzzled the side of my face into his collarbone, grateful for the physical comfort. 

Eventually, the lump in my throat subsided enough for me to talk. 

“Don’t go,” I murmured into his chest. “Thank you for coming to check on me.”

He rubbed my shoulder, pulling me tighter to him. “Yeah. No worries.”

I took a few more deep breaths, before bringing a hand up to paw at my face. “It’s been… a lot, you know? I think it just all caught up to me at once.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, putting his chin on top of my head. “Damien wanted me to apologize for him. He feels bad for not telling you sooner, but apparently your grandfather asked him not to tell you at all. He didn’t feel right about that, though, and he was waiting for the right time.”

“ _ Is _ there a right time to tell someone ‘by the way, your dead grandfather is hanging around as a ghost’?” I asked, a small, slightly hysterical laugh bubbling out of my chest. 

“Well when you put it that way…” 

I took another deep breath and nuzzled against Sam’s chest again. “I’m not… I’m not angry at Damien, I don’t think,” I said slowly. I wished he  _ had _ told me my grandfather was hanging around, but if he had asked Damien to not say anything to me, I couldn’t really hold that against him. “I think it was just the last straw, you know?”

He kissed the top of my head, still stroking my arm. “Yeah. You’ve held it together pretty well. But you don’t have to. Or you shouldn’t have to.” He paused and cursed under his breath for a moment. “I don’t know. I’m not good with words like you and James or Erik.”

I smiled into his collarbone. “You’re doing just fine, Sammy.”

His hand paused its stroking. 

“That’s the second time you’ve called me Sammy,” he pointed out. 

I pulled away from him enough to look up at him, arching an eyebrow. In the dark room, with his face half in shadow, I couldn’t read his expression. 

“Should I stop?”

He shook his head. “No. I like it.” He took his hand from around me and pushed a few curls that had escaped my bun behind my ear. “Just don’t call me that in front of my brothers. They’ll never let me hear the end of it.”

I smiled. “I can work with that.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first time sex is awkward as shit and no amount of incubus demon mojo is gonna change that. this is the hill i will die on

We sat in silence in the dark for a while, just sort of snuggled against each other. I would have thought it would have gotten awkward, but for me, at least, it just felt reassuring. 

Sure, Sam and his brothers had come into my life and completely upended it, scattering what I thought I knew about the world to the four corners of this empty mansion, but they hadn’t left me to pick up the pieces by myself. They stuck around, they helped me. I could only imagine what would have happened if they hadn’t been here when Malix kidnapped me, or Diana showed up. Sure, maybe neither of them would have turned up. Maybe they’d have known they boys weren’t here. Maybe they’d have left me alone.

Or maybe they’d just have killed me and moved on. 

There was no way of knowing, since one was dead (or gone back to whichever plain devils came from, whatever), and I certainly wasn’t going to ask the other what her backup plan had been.

Still. Despite myself, despite common sense, I’d started to care about them, these strange demon boys. Sam in a way that was different from the others, but still; care nonetheless. 

Eventually, I pulled my phone from my pocket to check the time and saw that I’d missed a few texts. Sam’s arm around me was comforting, his fingers trailing up and down my arm as we sat in silence. I considered sitting up so he wouldn’t feel awkward about reading my messages over my shoulder, but I was too comfortable to bother moving. Besides, I honestly didn’t care too much about him seeing what I was texting about.

The oldest message was from mom. 

_ Thanks for siccing my sister on me _ _   
_ _ with no warning, kiddo.  _

I smiled a little at that.

_ Any time! She’s coming out I _ _   
_ _ take it? When’s she getting there? _

I switched to the next message thread, from mother this time.

_ The funeral for your grandfather is _ _   
_ _ scheduled for this coming Saturday  _ _   
_ _ afternoon. your mom, Chris, and I are  _ _   
_ _ going to fly out for Saturday morning and  _ _   
_ _ stay through Sunday.  _

_ The real estate agent is going to   
_ _ come on Monday to take photos,  
_ _ he expects it to sell quite quickly,  _ _   
_ _ so you should be home by Wednesday  _ _   
_ _ at the latest _

Right. On top of everything else, Grandpa’s funeral still needed to happen, and we were trying to sell the mansion. I tried not to think about what that might mean for the boys. 

And my family, they were going to be staying here for a few days? That’s something we’d have to figure out. Chris was going to have a field day with all these hot guys in the mansion.

I frowned at my phone. Saturday. Today was Tuesday, was three and a half days enough time to get the situation with Diana sorted out?

_ Okay. Can’t wait to see you _ _   
_ _ guys  _ 💖 __

I blew out my cheeks and rubbed my palm against my face. 

“You alright?” Sam asked. 

With his arm around me, honestly, I was better than I had been in a while. It was almost scary how just sitting with him made me feel better.

I’d always had people around me who supported me, helped me, but Sam made me happy in a new and terrifying way. I wasn’t used to getting my happiness from other people. Sure, I was pretty social, I liked being around others, but more often than not I only relied on myself to make me happy. For another person, let alone someone I had just met a couple days ago, to bring me such a sense of security… it was starting to freak me out a little.

That was something to deal with later. Sam had asked me a question.

I nodded. “Yeah. Some stuff I’ve gotta talk to all of you guys about, my parents coming for grandpa’s funeral. But It can wait, to be honest.” 

I felt more than saw him nod as I opened my last new message, this one from Natalia. 

_ Picture  _ 👏  _ of  _ 👏  _ the  _ 👏 _ boy  _ 👏

I chuckled, slightly tilting the phone to draw Sam’s attention to the message. “This is my best friend, Natalia. She is a lesbian with very high standards for me. Do you mind if I send her a photo of you?”

“High standards?” he repeated, trepidation in his voice. 

I still couldn’t quite see his face in the dark room, but I could imagine the concerned crease in his forehead and the worried frown on his lips. 

I laughed again. “Don’t worry, Sam. She’s fine. She’s just worried about me.” I reached up and patted his cheek. “It doesn’t have to be right now, anyway. She can wait. I wanna have a shower, then we all need to talk about what to do for Saturday when my family arrives. We need to figure out what we’re doing for beds and stuff.”

With the hand that wasn’t around me, Sam brushed the escaping strands of hair from my face before cupping my cheek. I could faintly see a smile on his lips. 

“I’ll talk with the others about the bed thing. I think Matthew is making lunch soon, too. I can bring food up to your room after you’ve had your shower, if you want?”

I nuzzled into his hand for a moment. “Yeah. That’d be nice.”

Suddenly impulsive, I leaned up and pressed my lips to his. I caught him off guard, the muscles of his chest tensing in surprise as he gave a surprised breath. 

That didn’t last however, and he quickly kissed me back, melting into my touch.

~~~

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped my hair in a towel. Grabbing my paint splattered sweatpants, a sports bra, and a tank top, I yanked them on and opened the bedroom door, intending to head downstairs. Instead I had to pull up short to avoid stepping on a tray of cold-cut sandwiches and a glass of orange juice.

There was a messily written note tucked in between the plate and the tray, and I grabbed it as I took the whole thing back into my room and set it on the dresser. 

_ We’re talking about what to do with Diana downstairs. We want your opinion, but eat first _

There was something else, scribbled out on the bottom corner of the paper. It almost looked like Sam had drawn something there, then scratched it out. A heart maybe? 

That was pretty cute. 

I picked up a sandwich half and munched on it as I tucked the note into my wallet, digging out the first note he had left me after we made out on the roof and adding that one as well. Sappy as it was, I didn’t want to lose them.

I was putting my wallet back in my purse when the hair on the back of my neck started to stand up.

I hadn’t heard anything, there was nothing I could point to to explain the sudden sense of unease, but I was certain something was wrong. I set the remnants of my sandwich back on the plate and rubbed my palms on my sweatpants as I left the bedroom, looking each way down the hall. I didn’t immediately see anything to explain the source of my trepidation, but it increased rather than lessened. 

Hair still in its towel, I headed down the hall towards the entryway, but before I quite got to the top of the stairs, the sound of Diana’s laughter rang through the house and froze me where I stood.

It sounded like it came from the entryway, a low and sultry tone to it that I probably would have found attractive if she didn’t freak me out so much.

I was suddenly furious. 

How dare she come back here? How dare she make me feel scared and helpless in my own home? 

And that was the thing, wasn’t it? I felt my anger cool slightly as a realization entered my mind. I knew Diana had to have her own reasons for doing what she did. Something about her, a gleam of desperation I sometimes saw in her eyes, it made me sure she wasn’t doing what she was out of a sense of maliciousness. 

But she scared the hell out of me. Very few thing scared me, I wasn’t used to-

“What the fuck do you want?”

Sam’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I shoved the part of me that wanted to psychoanalyze myself down and out of the way. I could unpack that when there wasn’t someone in my house who wanted to take the guy I liked back to his home dimension against his will. 

The familiar warmth of anger reignited in my stomach, and I welcomed it back readily. Anger never made me feel helpless. 

I took another step forward, taking a moment to look around the corner and assess the scene at the bottom of the stairs. 

Diana was sitting on the banister at the foot of the stairs, her legs crossed just so, the long slit of her dress ensuring her long, shapely legs were on full display. Sam was standing in front of her, arms folded, not looking the slightest bit impressed. If he had looked up, he probably would have seen me peering around the corner, but he didn’t. He was more focussed on Diana. 

Diana tsked. “My my, such a brute. Didn’t your mother teach you how to treat a woman?”

My anger doubled, turning more protective than defensive. 

“She isn’t here. And frankly, you shouldn’t be either.” Surprisingly, Sam didn’t seem upset by the name calling. I remained half hidden by the wall, just listening to their conversation. 

“I’m hurt! Wounded, truly,” Diana scoffed, inspecting her nails. 

Sam scoffed right back. “Like I care, you crazy bitch.”

“Pity, and here I was thinking I was going to offer you the chance to become something better than just a simple incubus.” What was she talking about? Why would she approach Sam rather than James about their arranged marriage? Wouldn’t James be better suited anyway? 

It wasn’t that I wanted James to go. He cared for his brothers, and they cared for him. He rubbed me the wrong way sometimes, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to be trapped in a loveless union that he clearly didn’t want. I was mostly confused about why Diana would approach Sam in the first place. Assuming that’s what she was talking about, of course. 

“Like you got anything I care about.” Sam rolled his eyes dismissively.

“How about becoming the next Demon Lord?”

So that  _ was _ what it was about. I liked Sam a lot. He had a lot of good qualities that I really appreciated and was drawn to. But I couldn’t imagine him being the leader of a country. Maybe that was uncharitable of me, but his temper ran very hot, and I couldn’t imagine Diana being the one to help him keep a level head.

I expected Sam to shut her down right away, but he stayed silent, considering her. Didn’t like that.

“You’re bluffing,” he finally replied. Something in his voice didn’t sound quite sure. Was that something he wanted? I hadn’t thought it was, but…

“Well, currently, I am the contracted bride to the heir of the throne,” Diana said in an incredibly condescending voice. “Since the throne is open, it’s available to any son of the Demon Lord’s line.”

Assuming it worked the same in the Abyssal Plain as it did in feudal Europe, she needed him more than he needed her. The throne was his, or one of his brothers, by right, and she was just marrying in. If it was something any of the boys wanted, they could presumably go home and claim the throne by right of birth, they didn’t need her.

It still worried me that she was offering.

Sam didn’t respond again. His expression was angry, but was that uncertainty I saw in his eyes? I didn’t know. 

If… if Sam wanted to go with Diana, go back and become the next Demon Lord, did I have any right to try and stop him? Did I  _ want _ to stop him? 

That was dumb. Yes. Yes I did want to stop him. I cared about him. A lot. More than I should. I wouldn’t say I was in love. Love was a choice built on mutual understanding and trust. I didn’t know enough about him to make that choice. But I couldn’t deny the pull I felt towards him, the chemistry we had. I wanted the chance to figure out if love was the choice I wanted to make. I didn’t want him to go. 

But if he  _ wanted _ to leave, I didn’t have any grounds to stop him. 

The anger that had been burning in my stomach flickered, wavered, died down.

“Think about it,” Diana was saying. “You’ll gain the throne, the land, and a bride to continue your lineage with. Doesn’t that sound like a perfect life for an incubus like you?”

That caught me off guard. None of the boys seemed that much older than me. Were kids something they wanted already? Or was she talking about further down the road? Was that a demon thing, an urge to procreate and continue their line?

I shook my head, pulling my attention back to the present. That was something to ask about later. If there was a later for Sam and I. 

“You must be crazier than I thought,” Sam replied. I don’t know if I’d just imagined the uncertainty in his expression, or if he had made a decision, but it was definitely gone now as he glared at Diana like he could set her on fire with his eyes.

The relief that crashed through me made my knees weak, and I was glad I was already somewhat leaning on the wall. 

“... What?” Diana asked disbelievingly. She sat up straighter, and both she and Sam became surrounded by glowing auras. Sam’s was a familiar green, his teeth bared in an almost feral snarl. Diana’s was a rich purple, her anger more elegant but not much less intimidating than Sam’s. The room filled with an almost palpable pressure, the sense of an impending lightning strike as the two demons stared each other down. 

“You dare deny-”

Diana’s indignation was cut off as both she and Sam disappeared between one blink and the next. 

It took a moment for me to realize Sam had ripped her off of her perch on the banister, and now had her pinned to the wall near the dining room by her throat about ten feet from where they had previously been standing. 

I felt a bassy rumble rolling in my chest, and I realized Sam was growling. 

Hmm. I didn’t think I wanted to dwell on how that made my insides feel. Not scared, that was for sure.

Luckily, Sam started talking, distracting me from the journey of self-discovery I was starting on. 

“For once in your life, shut your fucking mouth!”

Diana’s feet weren’t touching the ground, all her weight being supported by Sam’s hand around her neck. Her face was already starting to turn red. 

He almost didn’t seem to notice he was supporting the full weight of another person. Sure, I could see his muscles flexing and tensing, but he didn’t seem to be exerting any more effort than that first night when he’d cleared my dishes away. In fact, the only effort he seemed to be exerting was on not shattering her spine. 

“You do not scare me,” Diana choked past Sam’s hand. “I can bring you to your knees and make you beg to return with me on a chain leash.”

I didn’t know her very well, but I could tell she was lying. Whether it was about not being scared or about being able to control him I didn’t know, but she was lying. Still. I needed to intervene. This was my house, and as big a front as Sam put on, I didn’t think he’d be alright with actually killing someone. Hell, maybe he would, but  _ I _ wasn’t.

And besides even  _ that _ , I didn’t think Diana deserved to die. 

“Then  _ do it, _ ” Sam snarled. “I wanna see you  _ try _ to chain me.”

A brief moment of panic tightened my chest, and I took a step out from behind the wall. Reckless. He was too reckless. 

Sam was facing away from me, and Diana had other concerns, so they still weren’t aware I was there, but all they had to do was look up and they’d see me. 

I half reached towards Sam, as though there was anything I could do if Diana tried to make good on her threat, but my panic turned out to be baseless. 

“That’s what I thought.” I could hear the smirk on Sam’s lips as he spoke after a moment of silence. 

He let Diana go, and she collapsed to the ground, hand to her throat as she coughed and gasped, trying to get her breath back. I almost felt pity for her. 

Almost. 

Sam shook his head, looking down at her as his aura faded and his voice lost that reverberating quality. “You’re out of power. You couldn’t make a human child obey you, let alone me.”

“Shut up!” Diana snapped as she stood up, one hand on the wall for balance. They still hadn’t noticed me. I needed to get down there.

“What’s stopping me from taking your little human’s energy?”

I rolled my eyes, putting my hand on the railing as I started down the stairs. Threatening me wasn’t really a good way for her to get what she-

I was nearly pushed back by an almost physical wave of magical energy as Sam’s aura flared back to life, stronger than before. I could half-see his face now, and the rage that filled his expression was enough to send me a step back in surprise. 

“If you go anywhere near Abigail again,” Sam said, enunciating each word. “I will rip you apart.”

Alright, that was enough. 

I half-ran down the stairs, my bare feet sticking to the marble floor as I hit the entryway. 

“If you two are done measuring dicks?” I said as I skidded to a stop between them, hands on my hips. 

I must have looked ridiculous, to be honest. My hair was still wrapped in a fluffy white towel, my sweatpants were covered in paint, the tank top I had on was old and had holes worn into the hem, and my face was probably still red from my shower. 

Sam and Diana, however, didn’t seem to register the ridiculousness of my appearance and were looking at me in wide-eyed surprise. I was more than willing to take full advantage of their speechlessness as they gaped at me. 

“Children, both of you! You,” I pointed at Diana. “Know  _ full  _ well you’re not welcome in my house. You have no right to be here threatening my guests. And you,” I turned my pointing finger on Sam. “Should know better than to try and deal with her by yourself! Where are your brothers? This is ridiculous! Where the hell did they go?! I wasn’t upstairs for that long!”

Yelling was doing a good job at getting my anger back, which was comforting. 

“Hmph. For a little human, you’re awfully nosey in business that doesn’t concern you,” Diana said haughtily, taking a moment to adjust her hair and make sure her dress was covering the important parts. 

I rolled my eyes again. “It absolutely does concern me.”

“Does it?” Diana snorted. “I don’t think a human would understand the importance of this affair.”

I folded my arms, hearing Sam move closer, so he was standing just behind my left shoulder. I found his presence comforting, and had to consciously stop myself from leaning back on him for support. “You come into  _ my _ house and attempt to force  _ my _ guests to do things they don’t want to do. You attacked me in my own bedroom, threatened me, and tried to intimidate me into betraying them! It’s absolutely my business. That’s even  _ before _ you take into account that I-” I stopped the rush of words before they could leave my lips. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug, and I didn’t want to say something I didn’t mean simply for dramatic effect. “The point is you need to leave. Sam doesn’t want to leave with you, so it’s not going to happen.”

“Oh? And what makes you so sure about that?” she asked, folding her own arms.

I did lean back then, thumping my shoulder into Sam’s chest as I glared at her. 

I still hadn’t actually talked to Sam about… well, anything, regarding… us. I hadn’t sat down and sorted through my own feelings. 

Everything was happening so fast. I’d never been in a relationship before, but making out with Sam, sitting with him, it was the most normal thing that had happened in the last few days. Was I just looking for something normal to cling to?

My instinct was that what I felt for him went deeper than just reaching for stability while my life was being turned upside down around me, but there was always a chance that what I felt wouldn’t last once this stage of my life passed. 

But that was true of anything, wasn’t it? People and situations changed constantly. There was no guarantee that anything would last from one stage of your life to another. You just did your best, tried to figure out what was worth holding onto and what wasn’t. You kept moving forward. 

Fuck it.

“I care about him. A lot. I don’t want him to go. I want the chance to figure out what’s between us. If he wants to go, I’m not going to stop him, but I want to find out if I could-” 

A lump formed in my throat before I could say the word ‘love.’ I took a deep breath through my nose. 

I tilted my head slightly back, not taking my eyes off of Diana but making it clear I was speaking to Sam. “If you want to go, with Diana or otherwise, I don’t have the right to stop you. But I want you to stay. I-”

Sam’s arm wrapped loosely around my waist. “Abigail? I’m not going anywhere. I think… I love you.”

I felt my heart do a slightly panicked stutter, a wash of confusing emotions rushing through me. I glanced over my shoulder, and while Sam was still glaring at Diana, I could tell a lot of his attention was on me now. 

I honestly didn’t know what to say. I cared about him, absolutely. The attraction was there, certainly. I thought he was sweet, considerate, hot, capable, basically everything I wanted in a partner. But it had only been a few days. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him I loved him when I didn’t know so much about him. But him saying he loved me? My stomach was doing happy summersaults, even as my mind tried to sort out how it was feeling. 

“A demon, love a human? That’s impossible,” Diana said before I could figure out something to say.

I turned my attention back to her, and despite myself, my heart hurt at the expression on her face. She looked like all the hope had been sucked out of her, she looked almost physically smaller. 

“Are you deaf,” Sam snapped, pulling me so I was standing in front of him and resting his chin on top of my towel-wrapped head. “I said I love her. It’s not just a human emotion, demons like us can feel it too. You’ve just got your head so far up your-”

My own anger wanted to join in, to tear into Diana and knock her down a peg or fifteen, but… 

“Sam,” I interrupted, reaching up to put a hand on the arm he had around me. Diana’s expression had fully shifted from incredulity to a deep sadness, and she practically flinched at each word he was saying. “As much as I understand the anger, I think that’s enough.”

Her gaze, previously on Sam, snapped to me. She was trying to glare at me, but her heart clearly wasn’t in it. 

“Very well,” she said. “Fine. Vale.”

Without another word, her black and purple pentagram appeared beneath her feet, and she sunk into it. 

The room fell silent as the pentagram disappeared, leaving Sam and I alone in the entryway. 

I let out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding, then stiffened as Sam turned me around, leaning down to get a better look at me. 

Now that Diana was gone, I had the space in my brain to feel weird about Sam seeing me in messy clothes and my hair in a towel.

He didn’t seem to even register how bedraggled I looked.

“You alright?” he asked, searching my face. 

I gave him an only somewhat shaky smile and nodded. “Yeah.”

He gave a sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around me again, pulling me into a tight hug and pressing his face into my towel. I returned the hug with interest, fingers tangling in the back of his vest. 

It really hit me then, how scared I’d been. What if Sam had been wrong and Diana had more power than he thought she did? Would she have locked me in place and made me watch her drag Sam off, never to see him again? It had taken me quite a bit of time to break out of the spell Erik had locked me in earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything to stop her. 

I tightened my grip on his clothes and closed my eyes, letting the steady beat of his heart calm me down as I nuzzled my face into the side of his neck. 

Standing there, wrapped in Sam’s muscled arms, his cheek pressed to the top of my head, I felt safer than I had since I first set foot in the mansion. 

“Thanks,” I said. “For defending me. I like to think I can take care of myself, but it’s nice to know you care enough to stand up for me if… when I need it.”

I loosened my grip as Sam pulled back, tilting his head as he looked down at me. “There’s no way I’d let her hurt you. I  _ know  _ you can take care of yourself, but…” he hesitated, his face heating as he reached up and cupped the side of my face, thumb tracing across the arch of my cheekbone. 

“I’m an asshole,” he said, breaking eye contact to look at the ground beside us. “Do I deserve to like you? No. I don’t. I don’t deserve you, in any way. But I…” 

He really seemed to be struggling to find the words he was looking for. I leaned into his hand, not saying anything and letting him work through things at his own pace. 

He finally looked at me again, that soft look in his eyes making my face heat pleasantly. “You… I just… I meant it when I said I loved you, okay. I love you.” The second one was said quietly, but with such sincerity that my heart stuttered again. 

I reached up and put my own hand on his cheek, smiling as he also nuzzled into my touch. 

“I- I like you, Sam. I like you a lot. I think I could lo…” Getting the word out was harder than I thought it would be. I frowned and tried again. “I could love you. I need more time to figure that out though. There’s… I was taught that that was a big thing, loving someone. I’ve only known you for what, three days? Four? I feel like we just met.” I leaned harder into his hand, chewing on the inside of my cheek as I studied his face, worried that he’d be upset. His face however, hadn’t changed. I pressed on. “I care about you. A lot. I’m incredibly happy you’ve decided to stay, that you care about me that way. I just need to take it slow. I need more time to… to figure my feelings out, to learn more about you, I guess.”

As I spoke, Sam’s eyes flicked momentarily to my lips before returning to my eyes. 

“Abby, I’ll wait as long as you need me to.” 

I stopped gnawing on my lip, my mouth opening a little in surprise. I guess part of me was still expecting him to find that an unacceptable response, that he’d stop talking to me, leave the mansion with the rest of his brothers.

His eyes dropped to my lips again, his eyelids half-shutting as he leaned towards me, stopping a bare inch short of actually kissing me. 

It was an offer. I could kiss him, show him I was still interested, or I could keep the space between us, push him away even. 

It made me feel… powerful. A literal demon giving me the choice, a chance to break it off. He was willing to wait on me, go at my pace. Sam had stolen my first kiss, been incredibly rude to me, tried to push me away. But here he was, offering himself to me, letting me have the final say. 

It wasn’t an offer I would refuse. 

I tilted my head and closed the distance, pressing my lips to his. 

I couldn’t tell if the breath that escaped between his lips was relief or surprise, but he pulled me closer to him, his hands moving from my waist to my back as my own moved up around his shoulders and tangled in his hair. 

His teeth lightly ran along my lower lip, and I opened my mouth for him, running my fingernails across his scalp and smiling into our kiss at how that made him tremble. 

I did that. With a towel around my head, I made a literal sex demon shake. He had  _ very _ bad taste in humans.

One of Sam’s hands moved from my back, sliding up my spine in a way that almost made me purr, to cradle my head, leaning me back as our kiss deepened. 

Sooner than I would have liked, though, he slowed the momentum of his lips on mine, pulling me up so we were standing straight again. 

He pulled away from me, and my eyes fluttered open. I was about to pout, but I saw him looking at me in a way that made my knees weak. 

I couldn’t describe it as anything other than desire.

He opened his mouth to say something, but his face heated and he seemed to change his mind, moving to pull further away from me. I didn’t let him, keeping my fingers tangled in his hair.

“Sam?” 

He blinked for a second. “I just- you want to take it slow and I-” He took a deep breath, nuzzling his forehead against the top of my towel-wrapped head. 

“You want… to have sex?” I asked slowly. I was pretty sure I knew the answer, given what I suspected I felt pressing against my hip and the things my own hormones were doing to me. But I wanted to be one hundred percent clear.

“I- yeah.” He sounded embarrassed, pausing his nuzzling on my head. His hands were pressed firmly to my back, but not moving or digging in with his fingers like he had been. “If you don’t want to, we don’t have to. I’m fine with that. It’s up to you.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of his mountain air and pine needle scent, focussing on the feeling of his shirt beneath my cheek. 

Did I want to have sex with Sam? My hormones certainly did, but was that what  _ I _ wanted?

It had only been four days. Until two days ago I’d been half-convinced that he had been using his powers to draw me to him. I’d never really bought into the whole ‘no sex before marriage’ thing, but I’d also never really thought of myself as one to hop in bed with someone I barely knew. 

That being said… I trusted Sam. I cared about him a lot. I couldn’t deny that I wanted to.

“Yes.” 

He pulled back from me, blinking like he wasn’t sure he had heard me right. 

I laughed, grinning up at him. “Yes, Sam. Yes. I want to have sex.”

He took another half second to process what I said, then I gasped in surprise as Sam’s fingers dug into my ass, picking me up. My legs automatically wrapped around his torso, my arms around his neck, and the world turned into a blur as he used his super speed to rush us upstairs.

The next thing I knew, I was pressed to the mattress, my legs draped over Sam’s hips as he looked down at me, his hands on either side of my shoulders. 

I think that was when the awkwardness hit both of us. An uncertain expression came over his face, not like he changed his mind, but like he didn’t really know what to do now. 

For my part, it had only  _ just _ occurred to me that us having sex meant Sam was going to have to see me naked.

Unfortunate. 

That  _ was _ how having sex worked.

I reached up and disentangled the towel from my head, tossing it to the floor before reaching up and cupping the side of Sam’s face, bringing him down to press my lips to his. I ran kisses down his jaw and onto his neck, enjoying the rumble of approval that shook through him as I ran my teeth across the soft skin of his neck.

It was my turn to give him hickies. 

I helped him out of his vest, then tugged his shirt over his head, both of them joining my towel on the floor. I arched my back, lifting myself up as he returned the favour, leaving me in my sports bra and sweatpants. 

We froze, just kind of looking at each other for a moment. He was shaking slightly, hands trembling as he reached up to brush some of my still-damp hair from my face. Was this his first time too?

That honestly made me feel better. I reached up to cup his face and bring him in for a kiss again, but froze before touching him as something dawned on me. 

“I, uhh, I’m not on birth control and I don’t exactly have any condoms lying around-”

Sam leaned down, putting his face into my hand. He hadn’t bothered with the light on our way in, and it was hard to tell in the bedroom, lit only by the early evening sunlight coming through the window, but I think he was blushing. 

“Incubi don’t… we can control… we don’t have to worry about it.”

I felt my own face heat. “Ah. Okay.” 

Before I could make it more awkward, I half sat up, crushing my lips to his. One of his hands came off the bed and pressed to my back, supporting me as he returned the kiss. 

His fingers hooked beneath the band of my bra and helped me wriggle inelegantly out of it, leaving both of us topless. I self consciously held an arm around my chest.

I’d never thought too much about what I looked like. I knew I wasn’t unattractive. I had a curvy frame, well-proportioned features, and, not to toot my own horn, some pretty great tits. But I wasn’t skinny. I had a lot of muscle built from a life on the farm, as well as a decent number of scars from various adventures I’d gone on as a kid. 

Sam was a literal sex demon. He could be with whoever he wanted to. Would seeing me, all of me, like this make him realize he wasn’t interested? Why would he pick me when he could have someone twenty times more attractive?

He picked up on my wavering self confidence and gently moved my arm so it was up beside my head before leaning down, his weight pushing me further into the bed. 

He pressed his lips to the corner of my jaw, trailing kisses down my neck. 

“You’re gorgeous,” he murmured into my shoulder, his fingers gripped my thighs through my sweats, digging in in a way that made me groan. 

I hummed noncommittally, digging my nails into his back as he nipped at my collarbone. 

His hands moved from my thighs, trailing up my sides and cupping my breasts as he moved his head lower, running kisses down my sternum. There was still a slight tremor to his touch, but he seemed determined to push through his own self consciousness to make sure I was okay. 

“I mean it,” he said, lips brushing my belly as he spoke. “You’re the perfect woman and you’re just gonna have to deal with that.”

I snorted. “That’s hardly-” I yelped in surprise as he stuck his tongue in my belly button, my legs spasming reflexively. 

He looked up at me, eyes sparkling with mischief before bursting into laughter.

That was probably the best thing he could have done. My face broke into a grin and I snorted. 

“You win, but only because I’m too smart to argue with the guy who’s gonna have his face between my legs in a second.”

He grinned at me, hooking his fingers beneath the waistband of my pants. “We’ll work on it,” he said, his voice practically a purr. 

I lifted my hips and the remainder of my clothes hit the floor. 

It took a second, but Sam very quickly found his rhythm, and he had me feeling things I didn’t know I was capable of. Sensations that made me clench my thighs around his head aside, I felt… weird. It didn’t seem fair, almost. 

“Hang on hang on,” I called between groans. He stopped immediately, looking up at me with wide eyes, thinking he’d done something wrong. 

I took a second to catch my breath, beckoning him up from between my legs. 

A vague part of me noted that he’d shed his pants at some point, too, but I was distracted by the concern on his face as he held himself above me. 

“What’s wrong? Did I-”

“That was wonderful,” I interrupted, cupping his face in both my hands, fingers trembling slightly with aftershocks. “I just feel kinda weird. You’re busy down there and I’ve got nothing to do.”

He nuzzled into one of my hands before turning and kissing my palm. 

“You don’t have to do anything, just enjoy yourself.”   
“Nope, not my style,” I replied before tugging him down, kissing him deeply. 

He returned the kiss immediately, one of his hands moving into the damp mess of my hair and tangling his fingers into the curly strands. 

When he slid himself into me, he went slow, letting me adjust to the sensation and making sure I wasn’t in pain. 

I dug my nails into his back again, moaning into his mouth before he pulled back, moaning my name before catching my earlobe between his teeth. 

“Sammy,” I replied breathlessly, arching my hips against him, encouraging him to speed up. 

Neither of us lasted very long, Sam’s steady rhythm finished us both off quicker than I think either of us wanted. He rolled off me, pulling me with him so I was lying on his chest as we caught our breath. 

His fingers traced soft patterns on my back in a very soothing way, and I closed my eyes, sighing happily as I nuzzled my nose into his collarbone.

“I meant it,” Sam murmured. 

“Hmm?” I hummed, not opening my eyes.

His fingers paused in their tracing, palms pressed flat to my skin, holding me tightly against him. 

“I don’t deserve you.”

I shook my head slightly. “One, that’s not true. Two, if you say something enough, it has a huge impact on your mental health. No negative self-talk in my house.” It came out more muted than I wanted it to, muffled as it was by Sam’s chest. But I think he got the gist of it. 

“The other thing I meant,” he continued, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Was that you’re gorgeous.”

I humphed, turning my head and opening my eye a crack to peer up at him. It wasn’t exactly a flattering angle, all double chin as he was looking down at me in turn. I managed to keep a straight face and glare at him. 

“You’re full of shit sometimes.”

“You don’t have to agree for it to be true.”

“We are going to resume this argument at a later date. Right now, I am tired, and I need to go to the bathroom.”

It didn’t feel particularly late - there was still plenty of light coming through the windows - but I was exhausted. I suspected it was a combination of ‘just had sex for the first time,’ and ‘oh thank god, Diana is gone now, maybe I’ll have time to start processing my emotions.’ 

We lay there for a bit longer before finally managing to stumble to the bathroom to clean up. I worked some gel into my hair, hoping that would save it, but not caring enough to do more. 

I had let Sam go first, and I was surprised to see him standing by the door to the hallway when I left the bathroom. He had his jeans on, his vest and shirt in his hands, and he wasn’t quite meeting my eyes. 

“I- uh- I can - do you want me to-”

I arched an eyebrow at him, snagging my underwear from the floor. “Do you want to spend the-” I grabbed my phone from the pocket of my discarded sweatpants and checked the time. “Night in my room?”

“Yeah,” he said, face turning bright red. “I guess it’s dumb to feel awkward after we…”

I laughed, turning from him to hide my own blush as I put on my sports bra. “I get it, honestly. We still have to talk about things, but… I dunno. That was… that was good.” 

I stepped into my underwear and looked to where my sweatpants and tank top were still on the ground. I usually just slept in my underwear. Would that be weird though? We’d just had sex, was it weirder that I was worried about it being weird if I just slept in my underwear?

I decided I was overthinking it and plugged my phone in to charge before assessing the sheets and determining they didn’t need to be washed. 

Oh. I’d just had sex in my grandfather’s bed, huh? I hated that. 

I shoved that thought forcefully from my mind and climbed into bed. 

Sam, seemingly waiting for me to make the call about underwear versus pants, ditched his jeans before crawling in next to me. 

We lay there for a second, just kind of looking at each other. Then my lips started twitching. His quickly did too, and then we were giggling like school kids.

After we managed to stifle our laughter, he slid over, wrapping himself around me. I smiled, wiggling closer to his warmth as he put an arm around me. 

“You know,” Sam said, his chin resting on top of my head. His voice was a murmur, barely spoken aloud. I wasn’t even sure I was meant to hear it. “I never thought I’d feel about anyone the way I feel about you.”

I hummed and rubbed my nose along the sweep of his collarbone before pressing my lips to his chest. “I’m glad I didn’t call the cops on you, for what that’s worth,” I said with a smile before sobering slightly. “I might not entirely know how far my feelings go, but I’m happy I met you, Sammy.”

His arm tightened around me in a quick squeeze, and I hummed happily.

There was going to be plenty of time to talk in the morning. For now, I wanted to enjoy the feeling of being held, and knowing that my life was, at least somewhat, going back to normal. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter of this story y'all. i've got at least three more one shots in the works, but this is the last big fic i have planned for this universe. thank you all so much for sticking with me through all this. i started writing Carry You Home on a whim during quarantine for myself and started publishing it as almost an afterthought, i didn't expect anyone to really vibe with it. thanks especially to imthegalacticstarfish and IttyBitty_Mage for commenting on basically every chapter i posted, y'all are the real ones.

I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly woke me up. I let my eyes flutter open, glaring at the closed door to the ensuite bathroom like it was its fault I was awake.

My back was to Sam, his body heat making the bed pleasantly warm. I wanted to slide back and press myself to his chest, enjoy the feeling of sharing a bed with someone I lo… that I cared about. But the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave. 

I gently moved Sam’s arm from where it was draped across my waist, careful to not wake him up as I swung my legs off the edge of the bed, rubbing the back of my neck to try and get rid of the prickly feeling crawling up and down my skin there. 

Oh. Huh. I thought she was gone.

I had no idea how I knew Diana was waiting for me on the balcony. I hadn’t even glanced in that direction. Maybe she had called to me somehow, or maybe my magic had alerted me to her presence. 

It didn’t really matter though, did it? She was on the balcony and someone needed to deal with her.

I glanced behind me at Sam, and I was immediately struck by the realization that he was wrapped in Diana’s purple magic. I reached out with a hand, not exactly able to  _ see _ the strands of her power, but knew they were there nonetheless. They weren’t hurting him, something in me said. They were simply keeping him asleep. 

I glanced at the door leading out into the hall. She probably had the other boys trapped in a similar way. 

I could try to get rid of them, pry beneath them with my own magic and shred hers away. But would that hurt him? I had no idea, and somehow testing it out while Diana was waiting for me less than fifteen feet away seemed like a bad plan.

Would their true names wake them up? Something in me said it was likely. But…

If I woke them up, even just Sam, Diana probably wouldn’t survive the encounter. She had made them all pretty angry.

So I would deal with it, and I’d keep the true name plan in my proverbial back pocket just in case I needed the help. I ran my thumb around the edge of the dog tag Sam gave me, king comfort in the cool metal hanging around my neck.

I considered rooting around for a jacket or something to cover myself with, but Diana was the one who decided to bother me at - I checked my phone - two in the morning. Compared to Alberta, the cool spring Chicago night was nothing.

I padded carefully across the carpeted floor, switching on the standing lamp as I passed, and quietly opened the sliding glass door onto the balcony, shutting it softly behind me before turning to Diana and folding my arms. I felt my magic crackling in my veins, eager to help. I just hoped the confidence it was instilling me with wasn’t baseless. If all else failed, I knew all of the boys’ true names - except Erik’s, I supposed. I hopefully had backup if I needed it. 

Diana was perched on the wide white stone railing, eyes running over my under-dressed self before making an ‘alright then’ face, something that might have been respect in her eyes. 

I opened my mouth, not entirely sure what I was going to say but knowing it was going to be aggressive, when she interrupted me. 

“Don’t get all huffy, I didn’t come here to take your precious man away.”

I arched an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. 

“How was it, by the way? Demons are the best lovers after all.”

I snorted. “Wouldn’t you like to know. What the fuck do you want, Diana?”

She smirked. “I just wanted to see how you  _ truly _ feel. Without your man around to influence you.”

I blinked owlishly at her for a moment, startled out of my own anger by how out of left field her words seemed.

“What?”

She inspected her nails. “It’s positively beastly of you to keep him here when your feelings clearly don’t run as deeply as his, dear,” she tutted. “I simply want to give you the opportunity to come clean, and to give you a chance at salvation.”

She wanted to talk to me about  _ salvation?!  _ “My  _ feelings _ about Sam are none of your business,” I snapped. “Nothing here involves you anymore. Either screw off back to the Abyssal Plain or fucking do something about it.”

“You’re not worth my time.”

“The fact that you’re sitting here proves otherwise.”

We stood there glaring at each other for a moment before she adjusted her dress with a dignified huff and pressed on.

“I’m going to give you,” she started slowly. “One chance to tell the brute in your bed that you don’t love him and let me take him and the other boys back to the demon world.”

I would have rolled my eyes if I felt comfortable taking them off her for the half second it would take to do so. “One, no. I won’t lie to him or any of the boys. Two, they  _ continue _ to be adults who make their own decisions. I can’t ‘let’ you do anything. You want to convince them to go back, you’d have to talk to them instead of threatening me. I don’t know what part of that you aren’t getting. Three, so you saying you weren’t here to, quote, ‘take my precious man away’ was a straight up lie. You’re really bad at double talk. Four, call him a brute again and I’ll tear you apart.”

I startled myself with how much I meant that last point. My hands, tucked under my still crossed arms were balled into angry fists, and I could feel my magic pushing against my skin, eager for me to release it and dig into Diana with a fury that burned white-hot.

She just narrowed her eyes at me. “He doesn’t really love you, you know. He’s a demon, you’re a human. You two can never have a happily ever after. Demons don’t know how to love, it’s not in our nature, there’s nothing you can do to change that. That’s before you get into the matter of him being so far above your station, despite his boorish behaviour. The list goes on, and on, and on.” The angry muscles of her face relaxed into a wide-eyed, helpful expression. “The point is, if you give me the boys, convince them to go with me, whatever, I will promise you eternal happiness.”

I arched an eyebrow. She took me for a bigger fool than I thought she did. “Uh huh. Eternal happiness. Nice and vague.”

She leaned forward on her perch on the railing, hands gripping the marble balustrade on either side of her hips to help keep her balanced. “I can give you anything you desire. Power. Men, women, fame, money. Name it and it’s yours. A demon’s word is their contract.”

I hummed, rocking back on my heels a little as I pretended to think about it. “And what,” I asked. “Do you think I want badly enough to betray the people who trust me, the people I care about?”

She paused for a moment, considering me. 

“Your dream job at that little dinosaur museum in Canada,” she said. “No degree required, with the full respect of all your peers and the knowledge needed to do whatever you want there. Full control of your magic,” her eyes flicked to my crossed arms, drawing my attention to the pale fog that was drifting from my clenched hands. “And the ability to ensure long and happy lives for your friends and family.”

I tilted my head, giving her an impressed expression. I wasn’t expecting her to hit quite that close to things I actually wanted. 

“You’re clever, Diana. I’ll give you that. If you hadn’t threatened the people I care about, I think we could have gotten along. My answer is still no.”

A dark, angry look crossed her face, but she quickly turned it to disdain.

“In that case, the least you can do is give me your power.”

I snorted again. “Why should I?”

Her disdainful expression didn’t change, but there was a desperate gleam in her eyes she couldn’t hide. “Without the boys, my kingdom will be destroyed at the hands of their father, and that will be on your shoulders.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. 

“Look. I get it. You’re not doing this,” I gestured widely at the mansion to indicate the past day. “To be a bitch. You have people you care about that you want to defend. I understand that. Honestly, I might agree with you that it was kind of irresponsible of them to leave when there was something they could have done to help deal with their tyrannical dad. But they’re his victims too. They got out when they could, and I can’t hold that against them.” 

Diana took a breath like she was going to interrupt me, but I pressed on. “I understand that you’re mad at them. You’ve clearly got a lot of your own issues to work on. But you can’t ask me to give up my magic. It’s just not gonna happen. And blaming the actions of one man on someone else is petty at best, actively manipulative and abusive at worst.”

Her face twisted with anger. “You insolent- It would be more pleasant for you if you handed it over willingly, but I could just rip your power from you!”

“Can you?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. I reflexively took up a practiced defensive stance, my hands held loosely at my sides and my bare feet bracing on the cold laminate, ready to respond to any move she made. “I believe you have the ability, but I think you know that’s a bad idea.”

She raised both eyebrows at me, anger colouring her cheeks bright red in the cool spring night air. “Is that so? Care to enlighten me as to why that’s so?”

“I may not have much training, I might not know how this works, but I know I’m strong. I might even be stronger than you. Maybe I’d level the mansion in the process, but I definitely have the raw power to obliterate you,” I said, tilting my head. There wasn’t any change in her expression. I wasn’t far off, then. That one had been more of a shot in the dark then I wanted to admit. “I also have five powerful demons living in my house whose true names I know. I don’t think your little sleep spell is gonna work on them if I use those.”

She looked like she was trying to keep her air of superiority, but her shoulders slumped slightly, and a look of defeat filled her eyes. 

I would have been happier if she didn’t look so sad.

“Fine,” she all but spat. “Fine. You win.”

She slid off the railing, turning so her back was to me before glancing over her shoulder. “May you never regret your choice, dear. If you do, I’ll happily come take them away.” 

She said it in a voice that was almost too quiet for me to hear, and her voice was so sad I couldn’t help but feel sympathy cut through the quickly dissipating anger that beat at the inside of my ribs. 

“Hang on. I can help send you back, right?” I offered tentatively. Now that she had accepted defeat and wasn’t being antagonistic, my anger was draining away, and I was starting to feel a bit silly standing there in my sports bra and underwear while she was wearing a full ball gown.

She turned back towards me, her head tilting as she considered my offer. 

“Very well, dear.” 

Her voice was tired as she walked me through how opening a portal worked, and with my permission, I let her use her own magic to lead me through the process, using my abilities as more of a power source then guiding the magic on my own.

As a white-blue portal opened in the space just beyond the railing, Diana gave me a look I would almost describe as grateful before stepping up onto the railing and through the portal we had opened.

The portal closed, and a wave of exhaustion crashed through me. I yawned and stepped back into the bedroom, closing the door behind me and switching the light off. 

Sam shifted a little when I crawled back into bed with him, and I was gratified to see he no longer had streaks of purple magic wrapped around him. 

“You’re cold,” he muttered sleepily, wrapping an arm around my ribs and pulling my back tightly to his chest. “Where’d you go?”

I hummed happily as he rubbed his nose on the back of my neck. “I’ll tell you in the morning,” I told him, my eyes already shut. “I… thank you, for everything, Sammy.”

He grunted, and I could all but see the pink heating his cheeks. 

I rolled over within the circle of his arms and kissed him, resting my hands on his bare chest. He froze in surprise for a moment, then kissed me back, his hand moving to the small of my back to pull me closer to him. I pulled back, looking at his still sleep-clogged green eyes, almost luminous in the dark of the bedroom. 

I had let him and his brothers stay against everything in me that had said it was a bad idea. I had taken a chance.

And you know what? I didn’t regret it. 


End file.
